Accident Graft Blamed for Deadly Police Aircraft Crashes

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of Facebook Thai Rath

 

Corruption's shadow looms over Thailand’s police aviation as systemic graft is pinpointed as the cause behind recent deadly aircraft crashes.

 

The president of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT), Mana Nimitmongkol, has boldly stated that substandard maintenance due to corruption led to the accidents, not human error.

 

The tragic incidents involved two crashes earlier this year. On April 25, a Royal Thai Police aircraft went down near Phetchaburi, claiming six lives.

 

Another accident followed about a month later, with a Bell-212 helicopter crashing in Prachuap Khiri Khan, killing three officers.

 

A leaked conversation with a police pilot revealed that many planes were "absolutely not fit to fly."

 

Alarmingly, over half of the RTP's fleet of 82 aircraft are more than 25 years old, with some Bell-212 choppers even exceeding 50 years of service.

 

Despite safety concerns, the maintenance budget stays stagnant at 950 million baht, far from sufficient for necessary repairs and upgrades.

 

Mana highlighted budgetary manipulation to avoid scrutiny. Requests exceeding one billion baht need cabinet approval, leading to deliberate underfunding.

 

Additionally, maintenance is marred by a lack of transparency, with most of the work outsourced through dubious processes managed by senior police officials.

 

Thai Airways maintains aircraft at 142 million baht annually but lacks capacity for the majority of the fleet. Consequently, about 90% of maintenance is subcontracted to third parties, often selected through opaque methods. Kickbacks inflate costs, leading to overpriced parts and inflated repair expenses.

 

Mana condemned the maintenance practices, calling them a "corruption chain" that prioritises financial gain over crew safety. He urged a thorough review of the maintenance processes, stressing that rampant corruption has cost lives and must be halted.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-06-24

 

 

[Artisi]

If there is money involved in any part of the maintenance programme,  it follows then there will be corruption or graft. 

[JoePai]

Is anyone surprised ?

[lordgrinz]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Despite safety concerns, the maintenance budget stays stagnant at 950 million baht, far from sufficient for necessary repairs and upgrades.

 

So the answer is more money for Graft? 🤔

[Artisi]

2 hours ago, JoePai said:

Is anyone surprised ?

Well I'm not and guess many others wouldn't be surprised either 😉