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Thai report blames pilot error and fatigue for Phuket plane crash – Metro US

Thai report blames pilot error and fatigue for Phuket plane crash

BANGKOK – Pilot error and fatigue were the primary causes of a 2007 plane crash in the southern Thai resort island of Phuket that killed 90 people, Thai aviation authorities announced Monday.

The report by the Civil Aviation Department, released on its website, listed six factors it said contributed to the crash at Phuket airport of the One-Two-GO airways plane, which was carrying 130 passengers and crew members.

They included failure to follow standard operating procedure for a go-around after an aborted landing; failure to properly operate cockpit equipment; lack of co-ordination between pilot and co-pilot; pilot fatigue; sudden change in weather conditions; and inadequate reactions by pilot and co-pilot.

The pilot and the co-pilot both died in the Sept. 16, 2007, crash landing in driving wind and rain of the twin-engine MD-82 jet.

Officials of the airline, a subsidiary of Orient Thai Airlines, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Even though One-Two-GO flies only Thai domestic routes, the European Commission in April this year added it to a blacklist of airlines banned from flying to the European Union for safety reasons.

In July last year, Thailand’s Civil Aviation Department suspended flights of the airline’s eight MD-82 planes for 30 days, citing failure to meet safety standards.

Monday’s report urged that One-Two-GO intensify flight and emergency training for its pilots, adjust schedules so pilots and stewardess get adequate rest, upgrade safety management and encourage personnel to report irregularities.