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

[just_another_guy]

I am not a pilot but why don't the airport authorities know the destination of the aeroplane?

I thought all international flights had to file a flight plan--some kind of international rule...

But again, this may not have been a "routine" international flight.

This incident will be very interesting to watch how all the facts will change in a few days.

Running out of fuel??? I don't think so.

[lounger]

Wow. I wonder where those weapons were headed for?

MAYBE CIA BLACK OPS UDON THANI ...

I like this idea the yank army equiped with Russian, built in Ukraine, kit

or

more likely CIA blaming insurrections on the Ruskies

What was that great movie where the yanks blow something up using UK SAS using Rusky ammo and giving credit to the Israelies....

this time its re written:

Ruski ammo, N.Korean blame, G Triangle rebels, rich Thai airport baggage handlers..........

[jackr]

What was that great movie where the yanks blow something up using UK SAS using Rusky ammo and giving credit to the Israelies.

Dunno that one but they're good at making bs war movies and taking the credit - U-571 anyone

[lakeside]

Five held with plane full of weapons from NKorea

BANGKOK (AFP) – 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.

[ray23]

Wow. I wonder where those weapons were headed for?

MAYBE CIA BLACK OPS UDON THANI ...

From North Korea you are kidding right?

[lakeside]

Thais Seize Plane With Weapons From North Korea

BANGKOK — A cargo aircraft flying from North Korea and carrying tons of weapons was seized Saturday by Thai authorities when it stopped near Bangkok to refuel, Thai officials said.

A senior Obama administration official said the United States — which fears North Korea will sell some of its nuclear technology — had tipped off the Thai authorities that the plane might be carrying weapons. Thai officials said that they had found arms, but did not elaborate.

The United States official said that beyond wanting to know what the plane was carrying, the administration was also signaling North Korea that it intended to keep the pressure up even as it pursues talks with its leaders about possibly restarting nuclear negotiations. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, a government spokesman in Thailand, said the aircraft had been bound for a country in “South Asia.” The five-member crew carried passports from Eastern European countries, he said.

Transporting heavy weaponry to or from North Korea is banned under United Nations Resolution 1874, which was passed after North Korea conducted a nuclear test this year. “Under that resolution we had to seize the weapons,” said Thani Thongphakdi, a spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry.

The resolution calls on countries to “inspect and destroy” certain categories of weapons bound to or from North Korea, including large-caliber artillery, missiles and missile spare parts.

No major seizures of weapons have been made public since the passage of the resolution. This summer, the United States Navy tracked a North Korean freighter suspected of carrying banned cargo for about three weeks, and the ship eventually turned back to its home port without incident.

Thai news media reported that the aircraft seized at Don Muang Airport outside Bangkok had been an Ilyushin 76. That aircraft has a carrying capacity of about 48 tons, according to the Web site globalsecurity.org.

Thai news media said the weapons had been taken to a military base in central Thailand for inspection.

New York Times

[SamPedro]

THAI authorities have detained five people who landed in Bangkok in an east European cargo plane full of heavy weapons that originated in North Korea. The plane's pilot asked to land at Bangkok's domestic Don Mueang airport on Saturday morning, and on inspecting the aircraft Thai officials found the cache, government spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn said.

"An eastern European airline asked to land this morning at Don Mueang airport to refuel its tank. When Thai authorities examined the aircraft they found a lot of weapons and detained up to five people," Panitan said.

He later said the weapons had been transferred to Takhli Air Force base in the central Thai province of Nakhon Sawan.

Lieutenant General Thangai Prasajaksattru, commander of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau, confirmed that five men from eastern Europe had been detained, but he did not yet know their nationalities.

"There were a lot of weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), missiles and other war weapons," he said.

National television channels reported that four of the detained men are from Kazakhstan and one is from Belarus, and said that US officials had tipped off Thai authorities before they found the cache.

But a spokesman for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Michael Turner, said he was unaware of the incident.

Air Force spokesman Captain Montol Suchookorn and special branch police said the chartered cargo 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 continuing to guard the aircraft.

AOT, Thailand's aviation authority, said Don Mueang airport remained open to passengers.

[reallyok]

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.

Perhaps they were just calling on VICTOR BOUT to show him that he is still in business !

[reallyok]

What do you bet it was really 70 tons?

mmmmmmmm! 35 tons worth of tea money!

[ray23]

Asia Pacific News

Five held with plane full of weapons from North Korea

Posted: 13 December 2009 0236 hrs

Photos 1 of 1

Thai police and soldiers remove boxes of weapons from a cargo plane at Don Muang airport.

BANGKOK: Thailand on 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 Muang 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 Muang airport remained open to passengers. - AFP/de

[reallyok]

Gotta say. All you Tin Hat Armchair Generals are funny. Thanks for the laugh.

Yes mate, i am thinking the same, but i suppose that we are fortunate to have so many military experts in here to educate us ....lololololol

[LukDod]

1/2 a tank possibly...

Me thinks the crew and cargo...are in the 'tank'

[moe666]

A lot of speculation by know nothings. On our local news they showed footage of the trucks removing the arms as well as one of the airplane crew and a short blurb.

[noahvail]

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.

Plausible deniability? Or just completely out of the loop?

Edited December 13, 2009 by noahvail

[captainsteve]

One of the news reports quoted that the crew of the plane said they had stopped in BKK on the way to N Korea on friday . Perhaps the stop at BKK on the way back was planned , but due to info from 'somewhere' they were not allowed to land at Suvamabhumi Airport . Having fuel planned for SVB and with the weather fine here they would only have enough fuel to divert to somewhere nearby plus reserve fuel . Therefore they would have to land in thailand and probably the Thai Authority requested that a plane they thought had guns on board should land at an airport where the military where based , ie Don Muang.

Every flight has to file a flight plan with its destination . If BKK was the intended refuel stop then then BKK would have been filed as its initial destination . Before leaving BKK the crew would have to file a new flight plan for that flight , stating its next destination . Anserws on a postcard for where that might have been

[farang62]

Only the tail was shown on the news, no markings!

A photo of the whole plane may prove interesting.

No one flies around in a un marked air craft!

[farang62]

Posts # and # did not come from farang62!

Maybe system overloaded.

[lopburi3]

Several posts have been removed.

[brahmburgers]

Let's hope Pvt. Somchai, assigned to guard duty, doesn't absent-mindedly toss a lit match on the confiscated items.

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.

Plausible deniability? Or just completely out of the loop?

Just denial. He knew about the flight, and likely the Thai air force were asked to force it down for inspection. Has anyone seen photos of the tarmac - are there Thai military planes nearby?

Thanks USAmerica and kudos to the CIA for taking care of us all so dam_n good

You're welcome, though it's nearly bankrupting Uncle Sam. The CIA make mistakes sometimes, but overall, they do a good job, most of what they accomplish we don't hear about. Without the CIA and the might of America, the Arabian peninsula would belong to Saddam Hussang, Milosovich and his thugs would still be running gulags, India and Pakistan might be embroiled in yet another war (this time with nukes), and China would hopscotch in to Taiwan.

[moskito]

Several posts have been removed.

for which reason? the TRUTH?

TV becomes more and more FOX news style

[Grey11]

"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.

As much as I think the trade of weapons only leads to human suffering. We seem to have quite a double standard in this world. Seems alright for any of the super power governments to deliver weapons anywhere to any group of people including those trying to overthrow their government thus supporting revolution (weather right or wrong) when it seems in our interest. The US, Britain, France, and Russia all have supplied weapons to African nations, Latin American nations which have cost thousands of lives. Look at the problems in Africa because of weapons supplied by the West. But hey, don't let North Korea do the same thing. The thinking of the West with regard to the "axis of evil" (North Korea and Iran) is foolish. Why does "international law" and the UN work against countries like North Korea and Iran when Britain, France, Russia, China and the US exempt from compliance with their veto power in the Security Council?

Nuclear weapons technology is going to eventually reach nations which should not have it. North Korea and Iran have the technology and the attempt by the West to stop them is wasted energy and will not work. Rather it would be better to bring these countries into the world of nations and engage them. However what Obama and other western leaders should tell the leaders of Iran and North Korea is that if one of their weapons ever are used to strike a western country the West will obliterate them and make their countries wasteland. After all why wouldn't Iran in particular want nuclear weapons. The US invaded Iraq and Afganistan didn't it. Israel has nuclear weapons doesn't it. If I was Iran I guess I would want to develop a standoff too. Only makes sense from their point of view. The Middle East policy of the US has been a mess for over 30 years. Does anyone expect it to change?

So this story is basically about a group of arms dealers no doubt trying to make a couple of million dollars. They will bring misery to many for greed while the Western countries seem to do the same thing for so-called "national interest" which has only made the world the mess it is today.

Thanks to the U.S. veto power Israel, which has had nuclear weapons for years, is immune to visits by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Israel refuses to abide by IAEA rules. Yet, the Western countries expect Iran & N. Korea to not only have inspections by the IAEA, but have decided that they cannot have nuclear weapons. I think that it is correct that Iran has brought it to the attention of the IAEA that if Israel & Western countries are allowed to have a nuclear program, why not them? Different rules for different countries.

[Basil B]

Only the tail was shown on the news, no markings!

A photo of the whole plane may prove interesting.

No one flies around in a un marked air craft!

Full story http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=13238

still can not understand why choose to refuel in Thailand instead of Burma or Lao which would have been more direct if they overflew China, and less likely to cooperate with the US and UN?

Since the almost complete annihilation of the Tamil Tigers I would assume that the Sri Lanka government has control of all airports of any size that could accommodate such aircraft, were the arms on pallets ready to be parachuted in?

[bendejo]

Running out of fuel on a run that is supposed to be clandestine? Maybe the destination was closer than all the speculation has mentioned, and the estimated fuel was just a wee bit short.

Myanmar?

If these guys really are pros they would have foreseen the need to refuel and would have had something more foolproof in the plan. Or did they think a pile of cash would have made a stopover in Thailand a non-incident?

As for the routing, I would think they'd try to avoid China's airspace.

If it was bound for the nuts in Afghan/Paki-stan , this sounds like the opportunism that perpetuated the local African wars in the 1990s: former Soviets peddling Soviet-made weapons swiped from the stockpile and promoting their use.

Whatever it's about, there can be no good of it.

My 2 satang.

[BangkokJazz]

I find the explaination that the US tipped off the Thai military, who forced the plane to land, much more plausible.

[Scott]

Several posts have been removed.

for which reason? the TRUTH?

TV becomes more and more FOX news style

Posts are deleted for a number of reasons. You can read the forum rules for specific reasons. In addition, posts which include a quote but not response are deleted. Posts which are clearly off topic are also deleted. The truth, as you call it, is deleted when it doesn't relate to the thread.

[farang62]

Data from Air Transport Data Base for 4L-AWA aircraft number shown in photo. It is the only aircraft of this type (Il-76) in there fleet.

Operator Model Sub-Type Current

Active Current

Leased

-out Current

Inactive Planned Historical Total

all times Avg Age

Active

Air West Georgia Il-76 Il-76 1 1 -

TOTAL: 1 1 -

More information and photos at

<snip>

http://www.einnews.com/kazakhstan/newsfeed...khstan-military

[webfact]

Five crew members accused of alleged arms trading were detained Saturday after Thai authorities impounded their plane which carried 35 tons of weapons.

One of five crew members who were detained after their plane was impounded at Don Muang airport and 35 tons of weapons were found inside their plane.//epa

This photo shows some of 35 tons of war weapons found inside a plane from Pyongyang, North Korea which was impounded at Don Muang Airport Saturday. Five East European crew members were detained.

This photo shows some of 35 tons of war weapons found inside a plane from Pyongyang, North Korea which was impounded at Don Muang Airport Saturday. Five East European crew members were detained.

Officials search a Russian-made IL76 cargo plane at Don Mueang Airport yesterday and seized the plane after 35 tonnes of weapons were found abroad.

-- The Nation 2009/12/13

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[sabaijai]

Reuters

[neverdie]

Another breathless Saturday night breaking report on Thai Visa.

Keeping the curious, the impecunious, the conspiracy nuts and the overstayers (ie all the usual TV suspects) glued to their PC monitors.

Get a life folks

Sounds like Jacky was about to grease things up and go to town on himself (again)

[moskito]

I find the explaination that the US tipped off the Thai military, who forced the plane to land, much more plausible.

thats all i wrote but the post was censored (deleted). I honestly doubt the fuel shortage. One General said that the plane was guarded by Thai Airforce. OK guarded doesnt mean necesarily two planes bringing it down, can be also mean tracked with airguidance systems but after the tip off from US intelligence first case szenario is more plausible.

will we learn the truth behind the story? I doubt it if there is no interview with the pilot or the crew