Don Mueang Airport ranks among the most dangerous airports in the world

[thailand49]

What ever reason hope I never find out!  

Not surprising this airport shouldn't even be opened.  It was close cause leaders here are such screw-up can't plan for anything including building proper size toilets at the newer one.  There is so much land at the newer one yet there was no real plan.

[Andyfez]

Interested to know why Barra is number 2. 

Must be because of the cows wandering across it at low tide.....

[Baz Erckens]

8 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Lack of reason given as to why DMK is ranked as it is. Two long runways, no altitude issues, winds never normally an issue, sure there can be heavy rains but that's same in any SE Asian airport. Can be a bit misty early mornings though. It has full ILS and tech etc. Would have been nice to know why it got the ranking it did. Only crash there that I can recall was the Qantas 747 that went off the end of the runway in 1999.

 

Yeah,  and people occasionally lose legs when strolling through the airport.

[bignok]

10 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Another list has it listed as the 13th most dangerous in the world. Seems the golf course is just one of the issues. I always thought it was bizarre.

 

Servicing Bangkok, Thailand, there is nothing particularly special about Don Mueang International Airport except that there is a golf course in between two of the airport's runways. Despite the reasonably conventional design of the airport, a large number of flights both landing here and originating here have crashed. While there are different reasons for each crash, the fact that many of these flights are tied to this airport is a scary one. Does this make the airport suspect? Not necessarily. There has to be an airport that has a higher crash-to-successful landing ratio, this airport just happens to be it!

 

https://wanderwisdom.com/transportation/Most-Dangerous-Airports

 

This list has it ranked at #9.

When you look at it for a distance, you will notice that the airport looks like any other normal airport. But when you see it closely from a distance you will be amazed to spot that the very famous Don Mueang International Airport has a golf course exactly in the middle of the two runways. The airport was originally constructed for military operations but it now serves as an airport for just commercial airlines. Besides, the gold course in the centre has been barred for public access due to security and safety concerns. Many people can be heard saying how surreal the golf course location is and even if they dared or wished to opt for a golf session will be interrupted with an aeroplane flying just 20 yards away.

 

https://liamtra.com/blog/top-10-dangerous-airports-in-the-world/

 

It is also ranked 4/10 overall, on Skytrax.

 

https://www.airlinequality.com/airport-reviews/bangkok-don-muang-airport/

Any golfers get killed? Four!

[DjSilver]

No kiddingSherlock, I don't think they even know what maintenance is in Thailand. So be careful. 

[digbeth]

8 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Lack of reason given as to why DMK is ranked as it is. Two long runways, no altitude issues, winds never normally an issue, sure there can be heavy rains but that's same in any SE Asian airport. Can be a bit misty early mornings though. It has full ILS and tech etc. Would have been nice to know why it got the ranking it did. Only crash there that I can recall was the Qantas 747 that went off the end of the runway in 1999.

 

must be the golf course, nothing to stop people in the fairways from walking down taxiways or driving balls into the flightpath 

plus some of the publicly  accessible road on the east (airforce base) side looks like they can be driven into airside 

[khunPer]

Little scary to realize how many of the most dangerous airport I've been visiting...

[yankyoakum]

No mention of Lagos, Malabo or the other real risky spots in West Africa, think as others stated this is garbage journalism...

[bignok]

8 hours ago, ezzra said:

Although i have used DM many times with full confidante it has its fair share of troubles

• On 25 December 1976 – EgyptAir Flight 864, a Boeing 707-300 bound for Bangkok from Cairo, crashed into an industrial area near the airport during a landing attempt. All 53 aboard were killed.
• On 27 April 1980 – Thai Airways Flight 231, a BAe 748 which was en route from Khon Kaen to Bangkok, lost altitude during a thunderstorm and crashed about 13 km from Bangkok International Airport. All four crew members and 40 of the 49 passengers were killed.
• On 1 April 1981 – Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus) raided hijacked Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 which was en route from Palembang to Polonia Airport (hijacked in Indonesian airspace). All 48 passengers safe, seven fatalities (one commando, one co-pilot, five terrorists). Imran bin Muhammad Zein, hijacker leader, captured.
• On 9 September 1988 – Vietnam Airlines Flight 831 crashed while on approach to Don Mueang International Airport. 76 of the 90 passengers and crew on board were killed.
• On 26 May 1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004, a Boeing 767-300ER (registered OE-LAV, named Mozart) which was headed to Vienna, suffered an in-flight deployment of the thrust reverser on the No. 1 engine after taking off from Don Mueang. There were no survivors from the 213 passengers and 10 crew.
• On 21 January 1992 – Douglas VC-47D L2-41/15/210 of the Royal Thai Air Force was damaged beyond repair in a landing accident.^[73]
• On 23 September 1999 – Qantas Flight 1, in what was then the most serious incident in the airline's famously safe jet aircraft history, a Boeing 747-400 overshot the runway causing significant damage but no casualties.
• On 3 March 2001 – Thai Airways International Flight 114, a Boeing 737-400 (registered HS-TDC, named Narathiwat), bound for Chiang Mai from Bangkok, was destroyed by an explosion and fire that occurred about 35 minutes before Thaksin Shinawatra, later to become Prime Minister of Thailand, and about 150 other passengers were to board. Five members of the cabin crew were aboard, and one was killed. Witnesses said they heard an explosion before flames erupted aboard the aircraft. Subsequently, NTSB investigators reported that the central fuel tank had exploded followed by the right tank 18 minutes later. The cause for the explosion was unclear, though some speculate it was an assassination attempt based on chemicals found during the subsequent investigation.

 

Last 3 nothing to do with airport

[thaiowl]

8 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Lack of reason given as to why DMK is ranked as it is. Two long runways, no altitude issues, winds never normally an issue, sure there can be heavy rains but that's same in any SE Asian airport. Can be a bit misty early mornings though. It has full ILS and tech etc. Would have been nice to know why it got the ranking it did. Only crash there that I can recall was the Qantas 747 that went off the end of the runway in 1999.

 

My son is a pilot based at DMK...he thinks it's fine.

[rubyjuan]

Kansai #1?   I just flew out of there this morning.  DMK is a nightmare, but dangerous?

[roquefort]

8 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

The inclusion of McMurdo Station in Antarctica (!) and Kai Tak which has been closed for 25 years rather reduces this reports credibility!

Not to mention Barra International (!) at No.2 - landing on a beach in the Hebrides, and Lukla at No.5 - landing on a 100yd strip hacked out of the side of a mountain at 8,000 ft up in the Himalayas!

 

By comparison Don Mueang is a walk in the park.

[Burma Bill]

8 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

The inclusion of McMurdo Station in Antarctica (!) and Kai Tak which has been closed for 25 years rather reduces this reports credibility!

Thanks for the memory - Kai Tak in Hong Kong. I had a mind boggling descent in a BA747 among the tall buildings to land on the runway built in the sea. Fornebu Airport in Oslo (Norway) was another I experienced on several visits before the new airport at Gardemoen was opened. Photo of Fornebu airport built in Oslofjord:

 

   

 

Don Mueang has nothing to compare with Kai Tak and Fornebu!!

[sambum]

As is borne out by today's story of the unfortunate lady who had to have part of her leg amputated due to it getting trapped in a moving escalator - tragic.

[JonnyF]

I'd have thought Phuket was up there. I've had quite a few dicey landings there.

 

 

Even if the plane lands OK you've got the taxi mafia to deal with.

[Burma Bill]

14 minutes ago, thaiowl said:

My son is a pilot based at DMK...he thinks it's fine.

So do I. I have flown in and out of DMK with Air Asia Fly-Thru on numerous ocassions and I have never experienced any problems, even on the same travelator the poor lady used!

[bluemoon58]

4 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

The whole article focuses only on the aviation features of the airports.

Nothing about quality/convenience/safety of the airports for passengers.

Where would Paris Charles De Gaulle be on such a list?

Worst airport experience I had.

 

Schipol and Heathrow aren't much better! And I see Lagos, Addis Ababa and Bamako are not mentioned. Bloody awful! 

Edited June 30, 2023 by bluemoon58

[Gknrd]

About 40 years ago I was flying to a small town in Peru. I remember we banked hard and it almost threw me out of my seat. Then a steep dive down and landed on a runway between two mountain peaks.. Great adventures and great time.

[Liverpool Lou]

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

Although i have used DM many times with full confidante it has its fair share of troubles

• On 25 December 1976 – EgyptAir Flight 864, a Boeing 707-300 bound for Bangkok from Cairo, crashed into an industrial area near the airport during a landing attempt. All 53 aboard were killed.
• On 27 April 1980 – Thai Airways Flight 231, a BAe 748 which was en route from Khon Kaen to Bangkok, lost altitude during a thunderstorm and crashed about 13 km from Bangkok International Airport. All four crew members and 40 of the 49 passengers were killed.
• On 1 April 1981 – Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus) raided hijacked Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 which was en route from Palembang to Polonia Airport (hijacked in Indonesian airspace). All 48 passengers safe, seven fatalities (one commando, one co-pilot, five terrorists). Imran bin Muhammad Zein, hijacker leader, captured.
• On 9 September 1988 – Vietnam Airlines Flight 831 crashed while on approach to Don Mueang International Airport. 76 of the 90 passengers and crew on board were killed.
• On 26 May 1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004, a Boeing 767-300ER (registered OE-LAV, named Mozart) which was headed to Vienna, suffered an in-flight deployment of the thrust reverser on the No. 1 engine after taking off from Don Mueang. There were no survivors from the 213 passengers and 10 crew.
• On 21 January 1992 – Douglas VC-47D L2-41/15/210 of the Royal Thai Air Force was damaged beyond repair in a landing accident.^[73]
• On 23 September 1999 – Qantas Flight 1, in what was then the most serious incident in the airline's famously safe jet aircraft history, a Boeing 747-400 overshot the runway causing significant damage but no casualties.
• On 3 March 2001 – Thai Airways International Flight 114, a Boeing 737-400

 

Not one of those aircraft incidents was caused by the airport being dangerous which is what the OP is about.

[Liverpool Lou]

9 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

The inclusion of McMurdo Station in Antarctica (!) and Kai Tak which has been closed for 25 years rather reduces this reports credibility!

The survey acknowledges that and explains why the old HK airport is included which rather reduces your comment's credibility!

[csmith]

There are over 41,000 airports in the world … 

[TaoNow]

During the Covid-19 pandemic, flying domestic to/from Don Muang was the most pleasant, stress-free experience I have ever had in an airport in 50 years.

 

And, that's after flying in more than 40 countries, mostly in the developing world.

[Liverpool Lou]

8 hours ago, Crossy said:

Nothing about woman-eating escalators then ...

That hasn't yet been proven to be the fault of the airport, has it?

[bkkcanuck8]

9 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Lack of reason given as to why DMK is ranked as it is. Two long runways, no altitude issues, winds never normally an issue, sure there can be heavy rains but that's same in any SE Asian airport. Can be a bit misty early mornings though. It has full ILS and tech etc. Would have been nice to know why it got the ranking it did. Only crash there that I can recall was the Qantas 747 that went off the end of the runway in 1999.

 

Not to mention some of the criteria seems nuts... like earthquakes - generally not a problem for aircraft landing... a bit bumpier but it is in the open and rarely does an earthquake happen at the exact same time a plane is landing, and rarely does a massive change in pavement happen right on the landing strip... in fact the odds of that happening - probably less than being shot in many cities in western countries.  Not to mention your tray table is stowed, your chair is in an upright position and you have your seatbelt on...

Edited June 30, 2023 by bkkcanuck8

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Not one of those aircraft incidents was caused by the airport being dangerous which is what the OP is about.

Has the Op actually clarified what it has accounted for in its contribution to being a dangerous airport ???

 

It seems an air-craft incident unrelated to the airport itself may also count...  IMO, as is usually the case with such reports / lists...  there is very little detailed research or accuracy which goes into these reports.

 

IMO this is just a headline unashamedly  'piggy-backing' on the recent horrific events where a woman lost her leg. 

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

6 minutes ago, csmith said:

There are over 41,000 airports in the world … 

Oh.

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That hasn't yet been proven to be the fault of the airport, has it?

Is the AOT not responsible for the machinery it operates within in its airports, ergo - the airport itself ?

 

 

[n00dle]

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

Although i have used DM many times with full confidante it has its fair share of troubles

• On 25 December 1976 – EgyptAir Flight 864, a Boeing 707-300 bound for Bangkok from Cairo, crashed into an industrial area near the airport during a landing attempt. All 53 aboard were killed.
• On 27 April 1980 – Thai Airways Flight 231, a BAe 748 which was en route from Khon Kaen to Bangkok, lost altitude during a thunderstorm and crashed about 13 km from Bangkok International Airport. All four crew members and 40 of the 49 passengers were killed.
• On 1 April 1981 – Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus) raided hijacked Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 which was en route from Palembang to Polonia Airport (hijacked in Indonesian airspace). All 48 passengers safe, seven fatalities (one commando, one co-pilot, five terrorists). Imran bin Muhammad Zein, hijacker leader, captured.
• On 9 September 1988 – Vietnam Airlines Flight 831 crashed while on approach to Don Mueang International Airport. 76 of the 90 passengers and crew on board were killed.
• On 26 May 1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004, a Boeing 767-300ER (registered OE-LAV, named Mozart) which was headed to Vienna, suffered an in-flight deployment of the thrust reverser on the No. 1 engine after taking off from Don Mueang. There were no survivors from the 213 passengers and 10 crew.
• On 21 January 1992 – Douglas VC-47D L2-41/15/210 of the Royal Thai Air Force was damaged beyond repair in a landing accident.^[73]
• On 23 September 1999 – Qantas Flight 1, in what was then the most serious incident in the airline's famously safe jet aircraft history, a Boeing 747-400 overshot the runway causing significant damage but no casualties.
• On 3 March 2001 – Thai Airways International Flight 114, a Boeing 737-400 (registered HS-TDC, named Narathiwat), bound for Chiang Mai from Bangkok, was destroyed by an explosion and fire that occurred about 35 minutes before Thaksin Shinawatra, later to become Prime Minister of Thailand, and about 150 other passengers were to board. Five members of the cabin crew were aboard, and one was killed. Witnesses said they heard an explosion before flames erupted aboard the aircraft. Subsequently, NTSB investigators reported that the central fuel tank had exploded followed by the right tank 18 minutes later. The cause for the explosion was unclear, though some speculate it was an assassination attempt based on chemicals found during the subsequent investigation.

 

25 years since its last incident.

Without explaining its criteria, the list is idioitic.

[Liverpool Lou]

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

11 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Not one of those aircraft incidents was caused by the airport being dangerous which is what the OP is about.

Has the Op actually clarified what it has accounted for in its contribution to being a dangerous airport ???

 

It seems an air-craft incident unrelated to the airport itself may also count...

From the OP..

"The danger and ranking of airports are determined based on multiple factors, including altitude, wind patterns, runway length, location, as well as social, political, and volatile events".

 

"It seems an air-craft incident unrelated to the airport itself may also count..."

No, that does not seem to be the case, there is no suggestion of that at all.

[Moonlover]

From the article:

 

'However, an operational golf course is situated between the two runways at the airport, which could certainly add a sense of danger to any golfer’s experience.

 

Flooding has also been a problem in the past on the runway of Don Mueang International Airport. In 2011, the rise of floodwaters prevented domestic flights from taking off and landing as water made its way to various runway's.

 

I've often wondered about the common sense of having a golf course in the middle of an airfield!