Thai Air Force fighter jet crashes, pilot killed

[News_Editor]

Thai Air Force fighter jet crashes, pilot killed

2010-10-18 14:36:36 GMT+7 (ICT)

BANGKOK (BNO NEWS) -- An F-16 fighter jet crashed in northern Thailand on Monday, killing the pilot, the Royal Thai Air Force said.

The fighter jet disappeared from the radar at 10 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) while it was flying from the central Nakhon Sawan province along with other three fighter jets to the northern Chiang Mai province.

"This is the first F16 crash we've ever had," Air Vice Marshal Monton Sanchukorn told reporters. He confirmed that Lieutenant Thanikorn Luengrungwalee died in the crash.

The Royal Thai Air Force has nearly 60 F-16s in service.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-10-18

[random]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

I wonder why he could not eject?

[whybother]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

<snip>

Yes it is. Thailand time is GMT +7 hours. GMT doesn't change with daylight savings.

[random]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

<snip>

Yes it is. Thailand time is GMT +7 hours. GMT doesn't change with daylight savings.

True, my mistake

[nong38]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

I wonder why he could not eject?

Yes they are right what you are thinking about is BST, 6 hours difference for about another couple of weeks possibiy?

[asiawatcher]

F16's are usually pretty reliable and as he was with two others probably tends to indicate mechanical and pilot reaction or lack thereof to mechanical. Hard to tell. Sad at any rate as no doubt he was a young guy.

[webfact]

Thai fighter jet crashes, killing pilot

BANGKOK (AP) — Authorities say a Thai air force pilot was killed when his F16 fighter jet crashed into a mountain in northern Thailand during a training drill.

Police Maj. Gen. Chamlong Nomsien says the aircraft has one of four planes from the Royal Thai Air Force taking part in the Monday exercise.

He said the planes took off from an air base in central Thailand and one of them suddenly vanished from radar.

Chamlong said that villagers in Tak province heard the blasting sound of the crash and later found the aircraft in ruins and the pilot's corpse.

-- (c) Associated Press 2010-10-18

[AloisAmrein]

Thailand should invest the money in rural development, not in very expensive military fighters. With better development of the rural areas there would be much less social unrest and more peace and stability in the country.

[zorro1]

he didnt eject. could have blacked out, whatever it was they were flying very close to the ground

[Gers1873]

Thailand should invest the money in rural development, not in very expensive military fighters. With better development of the rural areas there would be much less social unrest and more peace and stability in the country.

Same could be said about Pakistan -- who can develop a nuclear weapon but cannot support flood victims without begging the rest of the world for help. Look at mot African countries who spend more on arms than on health care --- no nets for malaria prevention yet plenty of money for bullets to arm 12 tear olds. Who says politicians anywhere want peace and stability.

Anyhow sad for a young man to lose his life like this -- only consolation he was probably doing a job he loved.

[cloudhopper]

whatever it was they were flying very close to the ground

Really? How close is very close Zorro? They must have a really excellent radar for them to be able to observe the remaining 3 so very close to the ground.

[boggle]

he didnt eject. could have blacked out, whatever it was they were flying very close to the ground

How do you know what flight level they were at?

If he dissappeared from radar it would tend to say they were at a decent flight altitude during their transit.

For a milatary jet to go down with no known communication and being an F16 would tend to be a massive aircracft failure or

a unexpected occurance with the pilot.

[Hawkup2000]

So sad. The guy lived just a few houses from us at the base.

Please stop speculating. This was a normal transit flight, and at this point, there is nothing that indicates nothing but normal altitude.

Edited October 18, 2010 by Hawkup2000

[witsawakorn]

F16's are usually pretty reliable and as he was with two others probably tends to indicate mechanical and pilot reaction or lack thereof to mechanical. Hard to tell. Sad at any rate as no doubt he was a young guy.

I don't see how you can rule out mechanical failure as it can happen to any aircraft including F-16s. Have a look at F16.net if you don't believe me ( thereare over 20 pages of F-16 mishaps due to many reasons). Why not say you have no idea what happened the same as the rest of us? Until the results of the investigation come out I think it is a bit unfair to suggest that the pilot may be lacking in reactions

[BOS2BKK]

Thailand should invest the money in rural development, not in very expensive military fighters. With better development of the rural areas there would be much less social unrest and more peace and stability in the country.

The F16 is not an expensive fighter. In fact it was specifically designed to be a cheap lightweight fighter that could be fielded in larger numbers to supplement the aging, heavy interceptor the F15. It is a first rate aircraft, but it is not new, and knowing the Thais extensive relationship with the US military they were more than likely purchased at a steep discount new, or as refurbs. Any country that has a 1000 year old enemy to its north, and is surrounded by communist regimes needs a good military. Rural development money is wasted if the Burmese roll back into Thailand and sack the capitol again.

[rakman]

F16's are usually pretty reliable and as he was with two others probably tends to indicate mechanical and pilot reaction or lack thereof to mechanical. Hard to tell. Sad at any rate as no doubt he was a young guy.

I don't see how you can rule out mechanical failure as it can happen to any aircraft including F-16s. Have a look at F16.net if you don't believe me ( thereare over 20 pages of F-16 mishaps due to many reasons). Why not say you have no idea what happened the same as the rest of us? Until the results of the investigation come out I think it is a bit unfair to suggest that the pilot may be lacking in reactions

Bird strike comes to mind.. F-16 is also single engine, pilots like to try to save the craft rather than eject. Hitting a mountain would indicate something distracted the pilot.

[Buchholz]

Thailand should invest the money in rural development, not in very expensive military fighters. With better development of the rural areas there would be much less social unrest and more peace and stability in the country.

The F16 is not an expensive fighter. In fact it was specifically designed to be a cheap lightweight fighter that could be fielded in larger numbers to supplement the aging, heavy interceptor the F15. It is a first rate aircraft, but it is not new, and knowing the Thais extensive relationship with the US military they were more than likely purchased at a steep discount new, or as refurbs. Any country that has a 1000 year old enemy to its north, and is surrounded by communist regimes needs a good military. Rural development money is wasted if the Burmese roll back into Thailand and sack the capitol again.

The F-16 fighter jet was introduced 36 years ago in 1974

Royal Thai Air Force F-16's

RIP Lieutenant

[blackthorn2005]

Sad loss of a brave fighter who dies for his country,

Now he is on his last flight. R.I.P.

[steve187]

R.I.P and as Gers1873 said, he was probably doing a job he loved, could we all say the same?

[sirchai]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

I wonder why he could not eject?

Maybe he couldn't read the instructions in English? :jap:

Rest in Peace...

Edited October 18, 2010 by sirchai

[sirchai]

Sad loss of a brave fighter who dies for his country,

Now he is on his last flight. R.I.P.

Would like to know where he'd landed.......:jap:

[sirchai]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

<snip>

Yes it is. Thailand time is GMT +7 hours. GMT doesn't change with daylight savings.

True, my mistake

Thought GMT is + 5 hours, wintertime =6? :jap:

[whybother]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

<snip>

Yes it is. Thailand time is GMT +7 hours. GMT doesn't change with daylight savings.

True, my mistake

Thought GMT is + 5 hours, wintertime =6? :jap:

GMT is zero all the time. Thailand is +7 hours all the time. London is GMT for 5 months (end of October to end of March) and +1 hour (daylight savings) for the rest.

edit ... got London wrong way around

Edited October 18, 2010 by whybother

[chantorn]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

I wonder why he could not eject?

He was not the only Thai pilot with ejection problems.

[DickFarang]

Nothing compares to the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, aka The Flying Coffin and The Widowmaker.

Germany lost about 30 % of them and Canada over 50 %.

[DickFarang]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

<snip>

Yes it is. Thailand time is GMT +7 hours. GMT doesn't change with daylight savings.

True, my mistake

Thought GMT is + 5 hours, wintertime =6? :jap:

That is for continental Europe.

[Tanlic]

mmmm 10 am is 3 am GMT is it? Not at the moment it isn't.

I wonder why he could not eject?

Maybe he couldn't read the instructions in English? :jap:

Rest in Peace...

Maybe his family and friends can

RIP

[sirchai]

Thailand should invest the money in rural development, not in very expensive military fighters. With better development of the rural areas there would be much less social unrest and more peace and stability in the country.

It's a great honor for me to tell you that you're terrible wrong. Guess it's not just my opinion to defend a country that you have to have some weapons like F-16...........

Otherwise it wouldn't be Thailand anymore. Maybe Thaibodia, Thaiburmaland, or Tuka Taka Land.Or even worse, like Germthailand, or Thaimerica.......

Herr Alois Amrein, solltest mal darueber nachdenken dass leere Worte noch niemanden etwas brachten. Denken und dann schreiben !!!

It's obvious. that you don't know much about rural areas like my wife's village in the lower north- east.........

I've been living there for almost one decade....:jap:

[Skywalker69]

he didnt eject. could have blacked out, whatever it was they were flying very close to the ground

How do you know what flight level they were at?

If he dissappeared from radar it would tend to say they were at a decent flight altitude during their transit.

For a milatary jet to go down with no known communication and being an F16 would tend to be a massive aircracft failure or

a unexpected occurance with the pilot.

I agree with you 100%. Further investigaton will hopefully reveal the cause.

[trainman34014]

Nothing compares to the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, aka The Flying Coffin and The Widowmaker.

Germany lost about 30 % of them and Canada over 50 %.

I had a Greek pal back in the 80's who was ex Greek air force. He told me (at that time) that Greek F-104 losses were around 60%. He said whenever four or five took off only three would come back! I don't know what the official Greek loss figures were for the F-104 overall but there couldn't have been many left for the scrapman by the time they were retired from service.