PHUKET, Thailand - A plane carrying foreign tourists crashed Sunday as it tried to land in stormy weather on the resort island of Phuket, engulfing some passengers in flames while others kicked out windows to escape the smoke-filled cabin. At least 88 people were killed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070916/ap_on_...cG2tPNsGjwE1vAI

The accident was likely to raise new questions about the safety of budget airlines in Southeast Asia, which have experienced rapid growth in recent years. None of Thailand's budget airlines had previously suffered a major accident, but there have been several deadly crashes in Indonesia.

An Adam Air flight plunged into off the Indonesian coast on New Year's Day, killing 102 people. In 2004, a MD-82 operated by Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air skidded off the runaway in heavy rain at Solo airport in Central Java and crashed, killing 26 people.

Many budget airlines use older planes that have been leased or purchased after years of use by other airlines. According to Thai and U.S. aviation registration data, the plane that crashed in Phuket was manufactured and put into use in 1983, and began flying in Thailand in March this year.

One-Two-Go Airlines began operations in December 2003 and is the domestic subsidiary of Orient-Thai Airlines, a regional charter carrier based in Thailand.

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