The Thai Army has placed its helicopters on standby to support the Thai Navy in the search and rescue operations for the 23 crew members from HTMS Sukhothai who are still missing.

 

Army Commander-in-Chief General Narongpan Jitkaewtae said Wednesday that, although most of the army choppers are not suitable for air-sea rescue operations, he has placed the Army’s air ambulance, troop carrier and transport aircraft on standby, in case there is a request for help from the Navy.

 

To date, the Royal Thai Air Force has sent a fixed-wing plane and a helicopter to support the Navy’s search and rescue operations.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-army-on-standby-to-support-htms-sukhothai-search-and-rescue-operations/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-12-21

 

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It's a bit late for that !  The ship sank days ago. 

Ridiculous - emergency rescue in nature is all about timing…hours not days 

 

Mai bpen rai attitude overshadows a sense of real urgency…

 

it’s no longer a rescue but a recovery mission…3 nights in the water vs say had they put the rafts in the water b/f sinking to give them/anyone a chance 

 

standby for what? All about image…

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Army Commander-in-Chief General Narongpan Jitkaewtae said Wednesday that, although most of the army choppers are not suitable for air-sea rescue operations,

Well, most of them seem to be configured as VIP transports to ferry generals around...

This is beyond rediculous!  The Air Force sends a fixed wing to search, with very limited vision of bodies in the sea and the Army, some three days later offer their helicopters.  Do these people not care about the service personnel?  The whole system needs a shake-up from top to bottom and not only the negligent Captain of the vessel Court Martialled, but some senior Naval Officers asked some very difficult questions regarding safety on their ships.  This is not an accident, it is an act of negligence!

Just now, robertson468 said:

This is beyond rediculous!  The Air Force sends a fixed wing to search, with very limited vision of bodies in the sea and the Army, some three days later offer their helicopters.  Do these people not care about the service personnel?  The whole system needs a shake-up from top to bottom and not only the negligent Captain of the vessel Court Martialled, but some senior Naval Officers asked some very difficult questions regarding safety on their ships.  This is not an accident, it is an act of negligence!

Helicopters can't operate in very poor and gusty weather.

27 minutes ago, robertson468 said:

This is beyond rediculous!  The Air Force sends a fixed wing to search, with very limited vision of bodies in the sea and the Army, some three days later offer their helicopters.  Do these people not care about the service personnel?  The whole system needs a shake-up from top to bottom and not only the negligent Captain of the vessel Court Martialled, but some senior Naval Officers asked some very difficult questions regarding safety on their ships.  This is not an accident, it is an act of negligence!

Sorry mate its national security... an internal probe carried out by the RTN will perform a root and branch review leaving no stone unturned... but they cannot publish results due to national security so you will just have to trust them...

3 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Sorry mate its national security... an internal probe carried out by the RTN will perform a root and branch review leaving no stone unturned... but they cannot publish results due to national security so you will just have to trust them...

Just like every other country.

1 minute ago, ozimoron said:

Just like every other country.

Absolute nonsense. If a European country had a similar action there would be umpteen independent panels and courts to investigate it. The Navy leaving a door hatch open or poor maintenance would not be hidden under national security. Sure if it was a Trident Submarine there would be much more secretiveness, but not for a run of the mill navy boat sunk inexplicably in choppy water

35 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Helicopters can't operate in very poor and gusty weather.

You what? So Coastal rescue service helicopters are grounded at the times when they are most needed.... have a day off....

22 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Absolute nonsense. If a European country had a similar action there would be umpteen independent panels and courts to investigate it. The Navy leaving a door hatch open or poor maintenance would not be hidden under national security. Sure if it was a Trident Submarine there would be much more secretiveness, but not for a run of the mill navy boat sunk inexplicably in choppy water

And those panels would be secret until complete.

21 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

You what? So Coastal rescue service helicopters are grounded at the times when they are most needed.... have a day off....

Often, yes.

1 minute ago, ozimoron said:

And those panels would be secret until complete.

Yes, as they should be, and when over the result disclosed.... Here we are still waiting for disclosure on the Red Bull panels which we were told would be fully disclosed... and that is not even national security... The Thai Military will just brush it all under the carpet as usual.

3 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Often, yes.

Not often, in extreme weather- by all accounts the weather by Global Standards was not extreme... it was stormy with 4m seas... that is not enough to sink an 80m Navy Boat or prevent rescue helicopters flying.

Just now, smutcakes said:

Not often, in extreme weather- by all accounts the weather by Global Standards was not extreme... it was stormy with 4m seas... that is not enough to sink an 80m Navy Boat or prevent rescue helicopters flying.

What accounts? You need to provide links. A link has already been supplied indicating that several ships went down in that storm. Ferry services to Ko Samui were cancelled.

Just now, ozimoron said:

What accounts? You need to provide links. A link has already been supplied indicating that several ships went down in that storm. Ferry services to Ko Samui were cancelled.

Its a shallow Gulf of Thailand, there was no hurricane, typhoon and its not the roaring forties... weather and Marine forecasts advised small vessels to stay ashore. A Thai Navy Frigate is not a small vessel and is specially built to handle heavy seas.

 

All of the reports in the news indicate it was a moderately stormy weather and the pictures and video footage from the actual vessel show that,

3 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Its a shallow Gulf of Thailand, there was no hurricane, typhoon and its not the roaring forties... weather and Marine forecasts advised small vessels to stay ashore. A Thai Navy Frigate is not a small vessel and is specially built to handle heavy seas.

 

All of the reports in the news indicate it was a moderately stormy weather and the pictures and video footage from the actual vessel show that,

I thought we were discussing helicopter rescue? What was the wind speed at the time?

 

If there’s a bad storm, the wind direction can change suddenly, which can make it dangerous to fly.

 

https://aerocorner.com/blog/can-helicopters-fly-in-bad-weather/

Edited December 22, 20223 yr by ozimoron

4 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

I thought we were discussing helicopter rescue? What was the wind speed at the time?

Well according to the internet Rescue Helicopters can fly in up to 90 Kmph winds.... If you want to suggest that there were 90 Kmph  Strong Gale Force winds in the gulf of Thailand that night- You can carry on... you and I both know its complete nonsense but feel free to continue to believe that.

6 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Well according to the internet Rescue Helicopters can fly in up to 90 Kmph winds.... If you want to suggest that there were 90 Kmph  Strong Gale Force winds in the gulf of Thailand that night- You can carry on... you and I both know its complete nonsense but feel free to continue to believe that.

Gusty winds. How many Thai military helicopters were in the area close enough to rescue 31 personnel?

1 minute ago, ozimoron said:

Gusty winds. How many Thai military helicopters were in the area close enough to rescue 31 personnel?

I am not sure mate, I am not in the Thai Navy, but they seem to have enough money for Submarines, Air craft carrier, so certainly appears they have enough funds to have Rescue helicopters... For a country with 3000 km of coastline you would think it is right up there high on necessity, as would be modern life boats.... They were 20 miles offshore which is like Koh Toh, not 300 miles... Not sure they would have to pick up all 31 in one go, perhaps more than one helicopter could operate or they could drop them somewhere safe and return again after GPS marking their location... In fact you are probably right... better not to bother at all if you cannot find a helicopter with 31 seats...They would probably prefer to stay in the water rather than slum it on a floor of a helicopter for a 10 minute ride..

8 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

I am not sure mate, I am not in the Thai Navy, but they seem to have enough money for Submarines, Air craft carrier, so certainly appears they have enough funds to have Rescue helicopters... For a country with 3000 km of coastline you would think it is right up there high on necessity, as would be modern life boats.... They were 20 miles offshore which is like Koh Toh, not 300 miles... Not sure they would have to pick up all 31 in one go, perhaps more than one helicopter could operate or they could drop them somewhere safe and return again after GPS marking their location... In fact you are probably right... better not to bother at all if you cannot find a helicopter with 31 seats...They would probably prefer to stay in the water rather than slum it on a floor of a helicopter for a 10 minute ride..

Stop trolling.

11 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

I am not sure mate, I am not in the Thai Navy, but they seem to have enough money for Submarines, Air craft carrier, so certainly appears they have enough funds to have Rescue helicopters... For a country with 3000 km of coastline you would think it is right up there high on necessity, as would be modern life boats.... They were 20 miles offshore which is like Koh Toh, not 300 miles... Not sure they would have to pick up all 31 in one go, perhaps more than one helicopter could operate or they could drop them somewhere safe and return again after GPS marking their location... In fact you are probably right... better not to bother at all if you cannot find a helicopter with 31 seats...They would probably prefer to stay in the water rather than slum it on a floor of a helicopter for a 10 minute ride..

They should have scrapped the subs and gotten new surface ships. But maybe the cut on surface ships is less. Who knows. Seems they don't often buy stuff here based on need but on commission.

 

I would not surprised to find out that it was lack of maintenance or hatches not closed. But it will probably stay hidden as it would embarrass some people. 

 

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The Thai Army has placed its helicopters on standby to support the Thai Navy in the search and rescue operations for the 23 crew members from HTMS Sukhothai who are still missing.

A tad late...

47 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

A tad late...

Maybe they were only just informed .....

   So, many days later the Army decides to go 'on standby' to perhaps, maybe, at some point, possibly offer some assistance in the rescue operations.   Umm, don't bother.  Would have been nice if the Army had leaped to assist when the ship first sank, when more sailors might have been rescued.  All in all, a very lackadaisical response from all the military branches.

2 hours ago, Artisi said:

Maybe they were only just informed .....

Do they not have a news channel.. then offer assistance?

Where was the Thai coast guard?

4 hours ago, ozimoron said:

And those panels would be secret until complete.

Hence your name 

1 hour ago, still kicking said:

Hence your name 

clever.

6 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Often, yes.

Very very rarely are SAR helicopters grounded by weather conditions.

 

I did 2 years on an SAR squadron in the UK and I don't remember ever that we ever stopped launching whatever the weather.

 

They even launched up in Scotland and Wales during snow storms in winter.

6 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Stop trolling.

He is not trolling.

 

You are.