Royal Thai Air Force Pilot Dodges Festival Rocket in Close Call

[webfact]

 

A Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) pilot narrowly avoided a disaster after an unexpected encounter with a festival rocket launched during a local celebration. The incident, shared on the Facebook page Unseen Records of Pilots, has raised public concerns over aviation safety.

 

The pilot reported the encounter shortly after taking off from Ubon Ratchathani Airport. As he ascended through 5,000 feet (1,500 metres), the pilot spotted a rocket-like object falling from the sky, trailing smoke behind it. Realising it was a traditional Isaan rocket, often launched during local festivals, he promptly alerted air traffic control to warn other aircraft in the area.

 

These traditional rockets are typically launched without proper authorisation, posing serious risks to aviation. The pilot’s account highlighted the immediate need for better regulation and awareness of such practices. "Besides the northern sky lanterns, the northeastern region also has rockets that pose a significant threat to aviation," the pilot remarked.

 

The post detailed the pilot’s evasive actions and the quick communication with air traffic control, which further alerted a following RTAF aircraft. Both pilots had to carefully manoeuvre to avoid the rocket, which reached an altitude dangerous to commercial and military flights. The situation was exacerbated by the sudden appearance of the rocket, emphasising the need for timely notices to pilots.

 

Pre-flight NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) briefings, indicating rocket launches in the northeastern provinces, allowed the pilot to recognise the danger and take appropriate measures. The pilot’s swift response and communication were critical in preventing a potential mid-air collision.

 

Photos attached to the social media post illustrated the rocket's smoke trail and the contrail of a high-altitude aircraft.

 

Despite the images making the rocket appear distant, the pilot clarified that it was actually within 200-300 metres of his aircraft—a perilously close distance.

 

The pilot called for greater compliance with safety regulations to ensure such traditional practices do not endanger public safety. "I understand it’s a tradition, but we must consider public safety and follow regulations. It’s not about blaming any group; it’s about preventing accidents. Imagine if your loved ones were on a flight affected by such an incident.”

 

Picture courtesy: Pilot Notebook Facebook Page

 

-- 2024-05-17

 

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[Georgealbert]

The same story by Thaipbs site, seems to imply that this was maybe a commercial flight.

 

“The news team checked further from Flight Radar24 and found that the flight route from Ubon Ratchathani to Bangkok After the plane takes off, it will pass Mueang Ubon Ratchathani District. Before crossing the Chi River and entering Kanthararom District, Sisaket Province, which although it was a short period of less than 5 minutes, was a period when the aircraft was not at a high altitude, approximately 5,000 - 10,000 feet or 3 kilometers above the ground. About 10 kilometers from normal flight altitude”

 

https://www.thaipbs.or.th/news/content/340076

 

My translation of the pilots post.

 

 

[JCCR6]

If a cardboard or wooden home made rocket takes out your military aircraft there are maybe bigger things you need to worry about. 

[Aviatorhi]

You just need to establish TFRs for the days of the festivals. Also, he literally "dodged" it by miles while taking a picture of it. 

[newbee2022]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

 

A Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) pilot narrowly avoided a disaster after an unexpected encounter with a festival rocket launched during a local celebration. The incident, shared on the Facebook page Unseen Records of Pilots, has raised public concerns over aviation safety.

 

The pilot reported the encounter shortly after taking off from Ubon Ratchathani Airport. As he ascended through 5,000 feet (1,500 metres), the pilot spotted a rocket-like object falling from the sky, trailing smoke behind it. Realising it was a traditional Isaan rocket, often launched during local festivals, he promptly alerted air traffic control to warn other aircraft in the area.

 

These traditional rockets are typically launched without proper authorisation, posing serious risks to aviation. The pilot’s account highlighted the immediate need for better regulation and awareness of such practices. "Besides the northern sky lanterns, the northeastern region also has rockets that pose a significant threat to aviation," the pilot remarked.

 

The post detailed the pilot’s evasive actions and the quick communication with air traffic control, which further alerted a following RTAF aircraft. Both pilots had to carefully manoeuvre to avoid the rocket, which reached an altitude dangerous to commercial and military flights. The situation was exacerbated by the sudden appearance of the rocket, emphasising the need for timely notices to pilots.

 

Pre-flight NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) briefings, indicating rocket launches in the northeastern provinces, allowed the pilot to recognise the danger and take appropriate measures. The pilot’s swift response and communication were critical in preventing a potential mid-air collision.

 

Photos attached to the social media post illustrated the rocket's smoke trail and the contrail of a high-altitude aircraft.

 

Despite the images making the rocket appear distant, the pilot clarified that it was actually within 200-300 metres of his aircraft—a perilously close distance.

 

The pilot called for greater compliance with safety regulations to ensure such traditional practices do not endanger public safety. "I understand it’s a tradition, but we must consider public safety and follow regulations. It’s not about blaming any group; it’s about preventing accidents. Imagine if your loved ones were on a flight affected by such an incident.”

 

Picture courtesy: Pilot Notebook Facebook Page

 

-- 2024-05-17

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

Limit the size of the rockets and by this the reachable hight to fly. Or stop it in the end.

Be prepared to see next some drones around the airports too. Take precautions beforehand any desaster.

[hotchilli]

11 minutes ago, JCCR6 said:

If a cardboard or wooden home made rocket takes out your military aircraft there are maybe bigger things you need to worry about. 

It was a commercial aircraft....

[klauskunkel]

Now I understand the need for submarines better... 

until the folks come up with local festival torpedoes... 

[khunpin]

35 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

Limit the size of the rockets and by this the reachable hight to fly. Or stop it in the end.

Be prepared to see next some drones around the airports too. Take precautions beforehand any desaster.

How long did Thailand TRY to prevent farmers from burning old crop in their fields? 🤔 

I was living in Mukdahan. 

It's a competition about flight time and hight. 

Can you stop that? 🤔 

[Donga]

43 minutes ago, JCCR6 said:

If a cardboard or wooden home made rocket takes out your military aircraft there are maybe bigger things you need to worry about. 

Not sure you understand the construction of these rockets. My 97 yr old father-in-law won five of these festivals in his prime, and they were long metal ones then.

They are now more elaborate, and I look forward to attending the Yasothon festival some day... https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&sca_esv=9fc72e91ef5044ae&sca_upv=1&tbm=vid&q=yasothon+rocket+festival&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFq-jRh5SGAxUYBDQIHeiYB2gQ8ccDegQIEBAF&biw=1409&bih=694&dpr=2#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:aad365ab,vid:WSe3a5E6PuM,st:0

[Freddy42OZ]

49 minutes ago, JCCR6 said:

If a cardboard or wooden home made rocket takes out your military aircraft there are maybe bigger things you need to worry about. 

 

Do think a jet engine can survive having something like that sucked into its engines?
 

 

[sqwakvfr]

53 minutes ago, JCCR6 said:

If a cardboard or wooden home made rocket takes out your military aircraft there are maybe bigger things you need to worry about. 

It can because the aircraft is flying at 200 to300 Knots and an impact with even a soft object at the speed could be catastrophic.  Also, the object could get ingested into the engine and we know what happens if a jet engine eats something like geese back in 2009(Miracle on the Hudson which made Captain Sullenberger famous). 

[Aviatorhi]

19 minutes ago, khunpin said:

How long did Thailand TRY to prevent farmers from burning old crop in their fields? 🤔 

I was living in Mukdahan. 

It's a competition about flight time and hight. 

Can you stop that? 🤔 

 

As I said before - a TFR solves all of this.

[Jackbenimble]

festival rockets can reach 5000 feet? 

[Aviatorhi]

5 minutes ago, Jackbenimble said:

festival rockets can reach 5000 feet? 

25,000+ for the big ones.

[newbee2022]

30 minutes ago, khunpin said:

How long did Thailand TRY to prevent farmers from burning old crop in their fields? 🤔 

I was living in Mukdahan. 

It's a competition about flight time and hight. 

Can you stop that? 🤔 

Well, they could if they want

[dinsdale]

1 hour ago, JCCR6 said:

If a cardboard or wooden home made rocket takes out your military aircraft there are maybe bigger things you need to worry about. 

From your comment I'm guessing you've never actually seen one of these 'cardboard or wooden home made rocket[s]" so here's some pics.

Not exactly some piddling little carboard or wooden homemade rocket.

[lineofentry]

From my mountain viewing point I once estimated that the homemade Bhun Fie rockets being launched from the plains below were reaching 15,000 ft. The winning rocket took 5 minutes to fall back.

[ignore it]

That's a lot of action for a Thai airforce pilot.

I'm sure he'll get a medal.

[Bert got kinky]

20 minutes ago, ignore it said:

That's a lot of action for a Thai airforce pilot.

I'm sure he'll get a medal.

 

With a dictator-style uniform and a chest full of medals, one could easily be mistaken for a Thai School teacher.

 

 

[Georgealbert]

This was not a military flight, the picture was taken from a commercial flight,Thai Vietjet Air TVJ221/VZ221, on the 16 May.The aircraft was an Airbus A321, which was late leaving the departure gate by 5 minutes, and for some reason the aircraft was held on taxi for 30 minutes before taking off.

The rocket was reported about 200m from the aircraft at 6000 - 8000 feet.

 

https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/TVJ221/history/20240516/0550Z/VTUU/VTBS
 

The military aircraft was the flight taking off after this aircraft, 3-5 minutes, an ATR aircraft with the call sign Cowboy04. Only the Royal Thai Air Force fly the ATR and those aircraft have a maximum capacity of 70 passengers.

[newbee2022]

4 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

The same story by Thaipbs site, seems to imply that this was maybe a commercial flight

Ok, if it's only a commercial flights...then it's not so important and dangerous 🙏

[newbee2022]

1 hour ago, dinsdale said:

From your comment I'm guessing you've never actually seen one of these 'cardboard or wooden home made rocket[s]" so here's some pics.

Not exactly some piddling little carboard or wooden homemade rocket.

https://images.app.goo.gl/2P62W8UKV993SwScA

Or this one🙏

[Georgealbert]

5 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

Ok, if it's only a commercial flights...then it's not so important and dangerous 🙏

No just that the initial report is not correct, and this was a far more serious incident, as the aircraft involved, as I post above, was an Airbus A321.

[newbee2022]

1 minute ago, Georgealbert said:

No just that the initial report is not correct, and this was a far more serious incident, as the aircraft involved, as I post above, was an Airbus A321.

You're right 👏

[Jonathan Swift]

4 hours ago, JCCR6 said:

If a cardboard or wooden home made rocket takes out your military aircraft there are maybe bigger things you need to worry about. 

Brush up on your physics. You obviously know nothing about flying or aircraft.  And no, watching Top gun doesn’t qualify you as an expert. Any aspect of flying requires an overabundance of caution as a fundamental rule. Any seemingly lightweight object can be hazardous or deadly to an aircraft flying at high speeds of over 600-700 mph, not by “taking out an aircraft” but by causing significant damage to critical elements such as control surfaces of the aircraft or possible consequences of evasive action. The damage from an AK47 round (that’s a machine gun bullet) does not come from its size or weight, which are miniscule, but from its velocity. At jet speeds everything becomes a bullet. A chunk of urethane foam took out the space shuttle Columbia by tearing a small barely visible hole in the wing. . Bird strikes can break windshields and take out engines. If the jet has only one engine a flame out can be fatal. Anything that blocks a jet intake can cause a flameout no matter what it’s made of. A chuck of tire tread is what blew up the Concorde when it got sucked into an engine. If a piece of engine turbine blade breaks off it becomes an armor piercing projectile. Just being distracted for a moment by a collision with an unknown object can be dangerous especially in a one seater with only one pilot at the controls. Any potential emergency requires split second decisions and responses. This is not a war situation and no one is expecting to encounter any threat or risk, so these things can catch a pilot off guard. Now I realize that half of all your fun here comes from ridiculing Thai culture, but in this case you threw the egg into your own face. Good luck with your further education, we’re all rooting for you. 

[digbeth]

it's not cardboard and bamboo, but pvc plumbing pipes full of black powder, unburnt portion is literally pipe bomb

 

NOTAM (notice to airmen) advisory are given in case of official events that managed to inform the relevant authorities but do all temple/local amphur run fair knows to do this? no

[dinsdale]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Brush up on your physics. You obviously know nothing about flying or aircraft.  And no, watching Top gun doesn’t qualify you as an expert. Any aspect of flying requires an overabundance of caution as a fundamental rule. Any seemingly lightweight object can be hazardous or deadly to an aircraft flying at high speeds of over 600-700 mph, not by “taking out an aircraft” but by causing significant damage to critical elements such as control surfaces of the aircraft or possible consequences of evasive action. The damage from an AK47 round (that’s a machine gun bullet) does not come from its size or weight, which are miniscule, but from its velocity. At jet speeds everything becomes a bullet. A chunk of urethane foam took out the space shuttle Columbia by tearing a small barely visible hole in the wing. . Bird strikes can break windshields and take out engines. If the jet has only one engine a flame out can be fatal. Anything that blocks a jet intake can cause a flameout no matter what it’s made of. A chuck of tire tread is what blew up the Concorde when it got sucked into an engine. If a piece of engine turbine blade breaks off it becomes an armor piercing projectile. Just being distracted for a moment by a collision with an unknown object can be dangerous especially in a one seater with only one pilot at the controls. Any potential emergency requires split second decisions and responses. This is not a war situation and no one is expecting to encounter any threat or risk, so these things can catch a pilot off guard. Now I realize that half of all your fun here comes from ridiculing Thai culture, but in this case you threw the egg into your own face. Good luck with your further education, we’re all rooting for you. 

Maybe this is a little complicated when the OP is really about the rockets and a danger of collision. Here's an easier and of course extremely simplified version. Take a long length of PVC piping, stuff it full of gunpowder, apply wick and light. Rocket goes up. Rocket is going very, very fast. Rocket hits plane. Not good.

[billd766]

1 hour ago, digbeth said:

it's not cardboard and bamboo, but pvc plumbing pipes full of black powder, unburnt portion is literally pipe bomb

 

NOTAM (notice to airmen) advisory are given in case of official events that managed to inform the relevant authorities but do all temple/local amphur run fair knows to do this? no

but the dates, times and places are all posted on social media, local and national newspapers, TV stations and radio. They are about the same times and days every year. Is it too much to assume that the government authorities can read and understand and post NOTAMs of their own, stating that is this area, on these days and times there will be a rocket festival, so stay at least 10 km away from there?

[GroveHillWanderer]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

but the dates, times and places are all posted on social media, local and national newspapers, TV stations and radio. They are about the same times and days every year. Is it too much to assume that the government authorities can read and understand and post NOTAMs of their own, stating that is this area, on these days and times there will be a rocket festival, so stay at least 10 km away from there?

Not for the smaller village rocket festivals, they're not. For some I've been to, only the local people knew about the festival and they definitely didn't advertise it anywhere or notify anyone in authority (because it was totally unauthorized). 

 

The rockets were still plenty big enough to cause major damage to an aircraft - some of them required 5 or 6 guys to carry them to the launching platform.

[MangoKorat]

3 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Not for the smaller village rocket festivals, they're not. For some I've been to, only the local people knew about the festival and they definitely didn't advertise it anywhere or notify anyone in authority (because it was totally unauthorized). 

There is quite a cover-all system of communication in Thailand - from national to local government and then downwards to the village head man. It shouldn't be too difficult to let the smaller festivities know that they must not carry out any unauthorised rocket launches.

 

The problem then though is that such a rule would be ignored and of course, not enforced by the police (anyone know what they actually do by the way?).

 

It will probably take the downing of a commercial flight to stop this stupidity and even then, I'm not so sure.  Thousands die on the roads each year because laws are ignored/not enforced but nothing changes.