N. Korea Aircraft Makes Emergency Landing At Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport

[Maestro]

A post quoting from a disallowed source (AP) has been deleted. Forum rule 31 applies.

--

Maestro

[Maestro]

A troll post about Spain has been deleted.

--

Maestro

[moskito]

35 tones of "heavy" weapons could be 12.5mm machine guns, mortars, manpads, rpg's etc...

yeah, or a half TANK anyway, I am loving this speculations here. For me btw. is absolutely clear they should fire the pilot....if he cant find the shortest way from Ukraine to N-Korea he obviously was not that good in geographics....maybe an US Pilot with a citizenship of kazakstan

Edited December 12, 2009 by moskito

[forqalso]

Is that a lot? 35 tonnes?? Sounds like it.

No not really Boothy, obviously it depends on what aircraft it was that landed, but we have C-17's landing which much higher payload capable.

Yes, the C - 17 has a payload of 85.45 tons.

[george]

Five held with plane full of weapons from N.Korea

BANGKOK: -- Thailand Saturday detained five men after they made an emergency landing in Bangkok with a cargo plane from North Korea full of heavy weapons, ministers and officials said.

The crew requested to land for refuelling at Don Mueang airport, where inspectors discovered a haul of weaponry including firearms and missiles, said deputy prime minister Suthep Thaungsuban.

"They declared that the goods on board the flight were oil drilling equipment but when we examined we found it was all weaponry," Suthep, who is also in charge of national security, told reporters.

Police said four of the men are from Kazakhstan and one is from Belarus.

"There were a lot of weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades, missiles and other war weapons," said Lieutenant General Thangai Prasajaksattru, commander of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau.

Air Force spokesman Captain Montol Suchookorn and special branch police said the chartered plane originated in North Korea's capital Pyongyang.

"According to my information, the flight originated from North Korea. It was a cargo flight that requested to land at the civilian side of the airport," Montol said, adding that the air force was guarding the aircraft.

Local media reported that the plane was carrying 40 tonnes of weaponry and was believed to be registered in Georgia.

Suthep told reporters the case would require careful examination as it involved several countries.

"This case will proceed carefully as there are many parties involved... everything must proceed transparently," Suthep said.

A translator from the Russian Embassy would visit the suspects on their request early Sunday, police said.

Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed the arrests came as a result of foreign intelligence.

National television channels reported that US officials had tipped off Thai authorities but a spokesman for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Michael Turner, said he was unaware of the incident.

"Officials will proceed according to the law. This is a case of a false declaration of goods," said Abhisit.

"It has no impact on Thailand's internal security. This is a joint collaboration of intelligence. We received a tip-off," he added.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn said the weapons had been transferred to Takhli air force base in the central Thai province of Nakhon Sawan.

Thailand's airports authority said the domestic Don Mueang airport remained open to passengers.

-- AFP 2009-12-12

[Maestro]

Some more troll posts and the replies to them have been deleted.

--

Maestro

[Moonrakers]

Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed the arrests came as a result of foreign intelligence.

National television channels reported that US officials had tipped off Thai authorities but a spokesman for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Michael Turner, said he was unaware of the incident.

"Officials will proceed according to the law. This is a case of a false declaration of goods," said Abhisit.

"It has no impact on Thailand's internal security. This is a joint collaboration of intelligence. We received a tip-off," he added.

-- AFP 2009-12-12

But I thought that it just ran out of fuel. 

[surangw]

Wow. I wonder where those weapons were headed for?

even more interesting is to find out where the end up

record serial numbers and cross check them if they end up "down south"

[LTGTR]

Why the detour so south to us?

Yes, I also wonder. It does not seem Thailand is on the way between Ukraine and North Korea.

May be they think "oh, if we go through Russia or China and we need emergency landing then we're in deep sh*t. Let's then fly through all the 2nd tier countries"

2nd tier-you mean 3rd world.

[zorro1]

Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed the arrests came as a result of foreign intelligence.

National television channels reported that US officials had tipped off Thai authorities but a spokesman for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Michael Turner, said he was unaware of the incident.

"Officials will proceed according to the law. This is a case of a false declaration of goods," said Abhisit.

"It has no impact on Thailand's internal security. This is a joint collaboration of intelligence. We received a tip-off," he added.

-- AFP 2009-12-12

But I thought that it just ran out of fuel.

As a holder of a commercial pilots license I can promise that international flights don't run out of fuel, except for one 737 where the refueler got the metric system confused and it glided from 30,000ft unbelievably to a safe landing.

This whole thread is a comedy, love it

Edited December 12, 2009 by zorro1

[LTGTR]

The aircraft was a charter, from the Eastern Europe, so russian aircraft like an AN-12 most likely not certified to fly in the EU and operated by a Khazk company based in the middle east. I see them nearly everyday in the desert. They are not certified for a reason. Cheap operators who care less about their crews or aircraft and it shows.

35 tones of "heavy" weapons could be 12.5mm machine guns, mortars, manpads, rpg's etc... Think heavy weapons platoon not armor units. The flight seems to have originated in NK hence the seizure. The customer could be Sri Lanka or its a staging point for another destination more than likely.

Not a big deal really, just nice to see a UN resolution actually get enforced but too late since Kim got his pay already I am sure.

Paid for while his people starve to death-every day.How sad is the sub-human?But I digress.....wonder what type of acft it is.Those who have seen pic can speak up now.

Edited December 12, 2009 by LTGTR

[animatic]

The perp walk shot of these guys is quite curious.

What a motley crew.

[geriatrickid]

Imagine if that plane had gone down over a residential neighborhood.

[Maestro]

Another post about shirts and an off-topic post about the name some people like to hear a country called have been deleted. Please read the topic title before you post and/or the original post if you are unsure what this topic is about.

--

Maestro

[JFitzgerald]

The perp walk shot of these guys is quite curious.

What a motley crew.

Police escort crew members of a cargo plane at the Crime Suppression Department headquarters in Bangkok December 12, 2009. Thai security forces seized more than 35 tonnes of arms and arrested five crew members after the cargo plane made an emergency landing to refuel on Saturday, officials said.

REUTERS

Edited December 12, 2009 by JFitzgerald

[kiwiTV]

Here goes the plane...

[ding]

I don't think Mr Turner is an uninformed, unaware dolt for a minute. The special forces and military intelligence personnel I've casually come across in civilian life are exceptional people, almost super-human professionals. Mr Turner may not need to know, or may need to "not know", any details - and therefore does not need to comment. US military intelligence did not drop the ball, vis-a-vis Mr Turner. IMHO

Glad to see there was a tip from the US intelligence side. I don't mind paying taxes when the gold plated decoder rings we buy them get put to good use.

No doubt the pic of the plane provides details, a painted ID number perhaps. Code number 4L-AWA - identified to an 'entity' in Kazakhstan. That makes it public information. The clothes and watches provide info on the motley crew being escorted too. I bet there is a TV reader right now that has some insight - I sure hope so anyway!

Do we think for a second that their passports are real? Their actual countries of origin will be cemented eventually, but we don't know yet and may never know. It will be interesting to see the utter BS the American media reports on this in any event.

Edited December 12, 2009 by ding

[Basil B]

Just been reading a few news articles relating to this and can not find any reference "Emergency Landing", it may well have been the intention of the flight to refuel on route at Don Mung.

The information regarding the illicit cargo came from the CIA, I would not assume that the CIA would have informed the Thai authorities unless they knew that this aircraft was defiantly going to land in Thailand.

35 tons does not seem much for an aircraft of this size and if the final destination was South Asia why did they not overfly China? I can only conclude that they ran a bigger risk if caught by the Chinese muscling in on the supplying of illicit arms.

[tw25rw]

A lot of places it could have been heading. Plenty of conflicts still happening in Africa and central Asia. And with Sri Lanka the intended refuelling point, the most direct available route could take it over SE Asia.

[Publicus]

It'd be good if N Korea were involved because Thailand is the only country in the region which provides refugee status to escapees from N Korea, which also means the Thai government/military actively resist pressure from the PRC to capture and return N Korean refugees. N Koreans who escape their hellhole of a country have to travel via an escape network through the PRC and Laos to get to refuge and freedom in Thailand, where they then fly on to Seoul.  

Thailand is not a signatory on the UN Convention on Refugees. They do not provide refugee status for North Koreans.

It's not the official policy of the Thai government to provide refugee status to refugees from N Korea. However, Thailand is the only country of the region which knows and in fact allows refuge to citizens of N Korea escaping N Korea to Seoul via Bangkok. I'll be back to provide the link.  

Not to belabor the point about North Korean refugees escaping the regime to Thailand to transit to other countries, to include S Korea and the USA, one can check the North Korean Human Rights Database Center whose director Kim Sang-hun cites that with the help of his and other NGO's in Thailand 30% of all successful refugees from N Korea enter Thailand to transit to third countries.

I'm in the PRC so accessing such sensitive information is difficult because such websites are blocked by the Communist Party of China but using proxy servers I can eventually access sources to relate to you. Russia, Mongolia and Myanmar accept N Korean refugees but not to transit to third countries.

Time magazine had such a piece in its May 2007 issue. At a Chulalongkorn University Human Rights Thailand Seminar, Nov 12, 2008 it was noted that "Thailand is attracting international attention since it is the only Southeast Asian nation which remains a 'sanctuary' for North Korean refugees desperately attempting to escape to safe third countries." Chula Political Science Prof Surat Horachaikul hosted the conference and operates a blog. 

The UN Human Rights Commission has granted numerous UN Travel Documents to N Korean refugees in Thailand, enabling the refugees to transit to third countries. At the Oct 2, 2007 Bangkok Conference on North Korean Refugees it was noted that, "North Korean defectors arriving in Thailand are refugees without question, as recognized by the larger international community. We sincerely thank the government of Thailand for their past assistance of North Koreans arriving in Thailand on their way to South Korea and elsewhere."  The Conference cited Thailand's recognition of the 1951 Convention Related to the Status of Refugees and of the 1961 Protocol related to.

It hasn't all been all peaches and cream for N Korean defectors arriving in Thailand to transit to third countries, especially after the 2006 coup. As the Time piece pointed out, Thailand has general policies for dealing with refugees which can make their lives more difficult than should be, especially considering N Korean defectors are immediately welcome in Seoul. For a good general picture of the overall situation, I'd suggest the following link as a starting point:

http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/09/...es-in-thailand/

Posting as I am from the PRC, which blocks the site (and similar others), I have to use a proxy server so check back with me if there's any difficulty in anyone accessing the link from here.   

Thanks.

Edited December 12, 2009 by Publicus

[mitrapaap]

The perp walk shot of these guys is quite curious.

What a motley crew.

Police escort crew members of a cargo plane at the Crime Suppression Department headquarters in Bangkok December 12, 2009. Thai security forces seized more than 35 tonnes of arms and arrested five crew members after the cargo plane made an emergency landing to refuel on Saturday, officials said.

REUTERS

That's how I imagine a crew of an airplane. Well, they brought it down on a runway, they must be better than they look.

[tw25rw]

35 tons does not seem much for an aircraft of this size and if the final destination was South Asia why did they not overfly China? I can only conclude that they ran a bigger risk if caught by the Chinese muscling in on the supplying of illicit arms.

How do we know they didn't fly over China? Anyway, China has strictly enforced air corridors and don't let everyone use them.

[Grey11]

Why the detour so south to us?

Yes, I also wonder. It does not seem Thailand is on the way between Ukraine and North Korea.

May be they think "oh, if we go through Russia or China and we need emergency landing then we're in deep sh*t. Let's then fly through all the 2nd tier countries"

Communist China is the major ally and arms supplier to Communist North Korea and the Russians sell weapons to anybody and is also an ally of North Korea.

So I doubt an airplane loaded with weaponry would have any problems with the mafia that now runs Russia or the Communist Chinese.

[tw25rw]

That's how I imagine a crew of an airplane. Well, they brought it down on a runway, they must be better than they look.

They look about as fresh as most of us do when we step off a long haul flight into the Bangkok climate!

[george]

Update:

Weapons seized

BANGKOK: -- Huge weapons shipment found aboard plane seeking refuelling stop en route from N Korea to undisclosed location; E European crew held, as cargo declared as military spare parts

More than 35 tonnes of weapons aboard a Russian-made IL76 cargo plane were impounded yesterday after it stopped over at Don Mueang Airport for refuelling.

A joint Air Force and police unit searched the aircraft, whose final destination remained unknown, and found military hardware including missile heads, rocket-propelled grenades and surface-to-air missile launchers.

The authorities grounded the plane and also took custody of the five crew on-board, who reportedly came from Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The plane, with code number 4L-AWA, was identified as belonging to an entity in Kazakhstan.

It flew from Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, and asked for permission to land to refuel in Bangkok.

Official sources said large metal and wooden crates containing the weapons with a weight of 35-40 tonnes were found in the aircraft.

The pilots and crew were held for questioning. The weapons had been declared as military spare parts.

The weapons were transported from Don Mueang Airport to the Air Force's weapon storage depot in Nakhon Sawan's Takhli district for safe keeping.

Initially, police investigators were told by the crew that the aircraft had stopped over in Bangkok last Friday on its way to North Korea.

All five crew and pilots were charged with breaking Thailand's air traffic law as the plane carried weapons under a false declaration.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he expected more details on the incident in the next few days.

This has nothing to do with the country's national security, he insisted.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, acting government spokesman, said the aircraft was understood to have been registered in an Eastern European country, but he declined to be more specific.

Panitan, an international security expert, also declined to speculate on the aircraft's final destination or its route, saying the sensitive information had yet to be confirmed.

"We need some time to investigate. We cannot just draw conclusions from information we received verbally," he said.

Thailand has to abide by international law, as it is a signatory to the international treaty on weapons transportation.

Unless the weapons were delivered in full compliance with international law, they would be destroyed, Panitan said.

"Transportation of weapons is rare these days. Doing so requires proper declaration and reporting," he said.

However, Panitan - also the PM's deputy secretary-general - declined to comment on whether the incident posed any threat to national security.

-- The Nation 2009-12-13

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[baramunchies]

How excately is this illegal?

I mean weapons do get traded all the time, what does make this trade illegal?

The UN embargo alone can't be the reason, as there might be two so called "evil countries" who don't give a lot about the UN resolution. What law does apply here and didn't they legally not even enter Thailand just by refueling the plane?

I understand that in this case they might be able to seize the cargo, but that does not make the pilots criminals.

None of the mainstream thai media has explained that yet.

Btw, certainly not a AN12, actually looks like a pretty decent modern airplane.

[IMA_FARANG]

Probably a load of old soviet weapons that some corrupt official sold to them.

As in "Lord of War?"

Ukraine now is independent...and the government there controls the now "legal" arms exports.

A few years ago the Greek Navy bought used old Soviet military "Suface Effect" air cushion sea assult vehicles from the Ukraine to deliver trrops quickly to some of the islands in the Aegean and Mediterranean islands they contest ownership of with Turkey.

The Greeks got them for a nice price...but maintenance and operating training were not included. All the maintenance manuals turned out to be written in Russian.

As far as I know they are still sitting in a Greek navy base, slowly rusting away. Nobody knows how to maintain them.

They are very fast...up to 50 knots or better...but they need a long distance to turn. Great in a straight line, but otherwise usless.

I'm sure that there are people in the CIA who will be very interested in talking to their Thai military friends about that plane and it's cargo.

P.S. A "Sea Effect" vehicle is much like a air-cushion or hovercraft vehicle...but it actually "flies" a few feet above the water surface and has a jet engine system to elevate it and propel it forward. In the days of the Soviet Union they built the worlds largest Sea Effect troop carriers...for use in the Black Sea...reportedly for any attempt to invade Turkey...which was/still is a NATO member.

Edited December 12, 2009 by IMA_FARANG

[baramunchies]

there is no "sea effect" you are talking about ground effect vehicles (GEV) which is not related to this thread at all.

[ding]

Follow the money. THAT is what I'm really curious about. Who is getting paid, and by whom?

[TGM]

wow! some of you guys get really into this. It's even better than reading the actual news..

as for the heavy weapons, I'd say we should keep a few freebie missiles and return it.