Thai Airways International Flight 261

Thai Airways International Flight 261 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport to Surat Thani International Airport in Surat Thani, Thailand. The flight was operated by Thai Airways International, the flag carrier of Thailand. On 11 December 1998, the aircraft, an Airbus A310 registered in Thailand as HS-TIA, stalled and crashed into a swamp during its landing attempt at Surat Thani Airport. A total of 101 people were killed in the crash.

Thailand's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee (AAIC) opened an investigation into the accident. The investigation revealed that the crew were disoriented. As their attempts to land at the airport had failed multiple times, the crew became upset, causing them not to maintain awareness of the condition of their aircraft until it started to enter an upset condition. The pilots failed to recover the aircraft and the aircraft crashed into the swamp.

The accident was the second-deadliest plane crash in Thailand, behind Lauda Air Flight 004. It is currently the fifth-worst accident involving the Airbus A310, the fourth hull loss of the type.

Accident

Flight TG261 departed from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport with 132 passengers and 14 crew members at 17:40 local time to Surat Thani, a gateway city for popular resort island of Koh Samui in Thailand. It was cleared to fly at flight level 310. The estimated flight time was one hour and 55 minutes. At the time, Thailand was hosting the 1998 Asian Games and many schools had been closed due to the event. Many Thais had headed to holiday resorts.

At 18:26 local time, the co-pilot contacted Surat Thani controller for approach. The aircraft, at the time, was located at 70 nmi from the airport. Surat Thani approach control cleared the flight for an VOR/DME non-precision approach to runway 22. The weather at Surat Thani Airport was 1500 metres visibility with calm winds and a cloud base of 1800 ft above ground level, temperature and dew point 24 and 22°C.

At 18:39 local time, the co-pilot reported Flight 261's position over the intermediate fix. Surat Thani controller then stated that the Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) on the right side of the runway 22 was not functional and the PAPI indicator on the left side was in use. Two minutes later, Flight 261 was cleared to land. The flight crews were cautioned due to slippery runway due to recent rain. The wind was 310 degrees at 5 knots

At 18:42 local time, the runway was sighted and the pilots attempted to land the aircraft. They then decided to go-around for a second approach. The flight was cleared for its second landing attempt. This time, however, the pilots could not see the runway and opted for another go-around.

At 19:05 local time, the flight crews were informed of the weather in the area, which the crew members acknowledged. The weather had deteriorated, the visibility decreased from 1,500 to 1,000 m which was now less than allowed for the type of non-precision approach in use. The pilots informed the passengers of the deteriorating weather conditions and announced that they would attempt another landing for the third time and if they failed again they would divert back to Bangkok.

During the go-around, the angle of attack of the aircraft gradually increased from 18 degrees to 48 degrees. The speed of the aircraft began to decay and the aircraft began to shake. It entered an aerodynamic stall. As it began to shake, surviving flight attendants recounted that passengers began to scream and jump out of their seats, with luggage reportedly "flying around everywhere".

The Airbus A310 crashed into swampy ground near a flooded rubber plantation and exploded, bursting into flames. The crash site was located 700 m from the runway. Many of the occupants were drowned by the waist-deep water, while the remaining survivors had to crawl to escape from the wreckage. Local residents immediately rushed to the crash site to rescue the survivors. Search and rescue operation was hampered by the location of the crash, which was in a swamp. Rescuers reported that most of the survivors were seated at the front portion of the aircraft.

More than 400 soldiers and police were deployed to assist in the rescue operation. By 12 December, rescuers had managed to retrieve 100 bodies from the crash site. Depletion of emergency resources caused the set up of a makeshift morgue at the airport. The bodies were laid in the main lobby and body bags were opened to give relatives identification access, but many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, causing difficulties in the identification process. Identification of the victims was also hampered by the fact that passengers were not required to fill a next of kin form for a domestic flight.

Search operations were suspended on 13 December after the last victim was recovered. In total, 101 passengers and crew, including both the pilot and the co-pilot, were killed in the crash. Forty-five people survived, with 30 people suffering serious injuries. Among the survivors were 12 foreigners (three Australians, three Japanese, three Germans, two Israelis, one Briton) and Thai actor and singer Ruangsak Loychusak. Siriwan, the sister of Thai Minister of Transport and Communications of Thailand Suthep Thaugsuban, and Thawat Wichaidit, a Member of Parliament from Surat Thani, were among those killed.