Military Denied Shots Fired At Passenger Plane: PM Yingluck

[webfact]

Military denied shots fired at passenger plane: PM

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday dismissed an Army statement acknowledging an incident in which a Thai passenger jet was reportedly shot at by Cambodian troops, saying the military told her on Thursday that no such thing had occurred.

She said she had heard of the shooting on Thursday but the military, Cambodian authorities and provincial authorities in Sa Kaew province, which borders Cambodia, had not confirmed it.

Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul on Thursday also denied it, citing his own query with relevant agencies including Bangkok Airways - which operates the aircraft in question - Cambodian commanders and the Thai military attache in Phnom Penh.

But the Army announced on Thursday that Cambodian troops had fired shots at a passenger aircraft flying near the country's disputed border with Thailand, believing it to be a spy plane, according to the news agency Agence France-Presse.

Meanwhile, Army commander General Prayuth Chan-ocha said bilateral coordination was underway to find out what really happened. "There could have been shooting, or maybe there wasn't. We need to find that out," he added.

There are many channels of communication, including military attaches and foreign ministers, he said. "If they did fire on the Thai plane, they need to apologise, regardless of intent. Who would want to shoot at a passenger plane, anyway?"

Democrat Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut yesterday criticised Surapong, accusing him of lying when he made his total denial of the incident. He called on Yingluck to protest to Cambodia over the issue or at least raise the matter with Prime Minister Hun Sen, before making a statement to clarify everything when she returned to Thailand.

"I would like to know why Surapong jumped to a conclusion dismissing the incident, without first verifying the facts, as the foreign minister. He said the plane's landing was scheduled at 9am in Siem Reap, but that it landed in Thailand instead because of poor visibility. The facts are that the plane circled for half an hour and landed in Siem Reap.

"Surapong also lied by saying there was no shooting, but Cambodia's supreme commander said to the press later that there was a shooting, but that it was ordered out of a misunderstanding that the passenger jet was a spy plane."

-- The Nation 2012-07-14

[Buchholz]

A Thaksin family member lying?

That almost never happens....

.

[submaniac]

I hope Yingluck is telling the truth, and I hope the incident never actually happened.I would like to think that any military would fire on a civilian passenger plane or any plane without determining who exactly it is.

[Yunla]

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday dismissed an Army statement

It is her vast knowledge of airplanes, artillery, radar, and the fact that she was a direct witness to the incident not happening, that make her statements on this subject so credible.

He called on Yingluck to protest to Cambodia over the issue or at least raise the matter with Prime Minister Hun Sen

Thaksin threatens to unfriend Hun Sen on Facebook. "No more Farmville gifts from me, until you say sorry. What about those loving embraces we shared so recently Hun Sen, I thought we had something, something special."

Edited July 14, 2012 by Yunla

[jeffcool]

A Thaksin family member lying?

That almost never happens....

.

Almost..... :-)

[Moruya]

Whitewashed by a Shinawatra?

You whitewash my back and I'll whitewash yours.

Hun Sen has all the fun.

How's your Cambodian model for Thailand looking Yingluck?

[Thai at Heart]

So is she saying the army lied? Or she lied, or it was a spy plane?

How can people so readily lie about something when it has such serious implications?

[ratcatcher]

I hope Yingluck is telling the truth, and I hope the incident never actually happened.I would like to think that any military would fire on a civilian passenger plane or any plane without determining who exactly it is.

"I hope Yingluck is telling the truth, and I hope the incident never actually happened.I would like to think that any NO military would fire on a civilian passenger plane or any plane without determining who exactly it is."

I'm sure that's what you meant? Wasn't it?

[Moruya]

Good thing it wasn't a NASA plane - there would be a real inquiry.

[Notstupid30]

Good thing it wasn't a NASA plane - there would be a real inquiry.

Very true ..

[Notstupid30]

Thailand, Cambodia investigate allegations that Cambodian troops fired on Bangkok Airways jet

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/thailand-cambodia-investigate-allegations-that-cambodian-troops-fired-on-bangkok-airways-jet/2012/07/13/gJQAhm13gW_story.html

[SuneeTH]

Yingluck words against the shooters words.

I think the lowly educated not so smart half blind solider did shoot at the plane, thinking that is it a bird or superman.

[LomSak27]

Gee so you are NOT thinking that this incident was made up just to embarass Yingluck? and a family member? Come on, we have just had the FARCE of the NASA conspiracy, but you guys bite again.

Fish On!

I don't like Thaksin myself but the other sides games are pretty transparent and juvinile. And yep they seem to spend most of their time coming up with games to play. Imagine if they actually came up with something about governing the country.??! Naw they won't do that

[Thaddeus]

is it a bird or superman.

or Surapong, able to leap to huge conclusions at a single bound.

[OzMick]

The stupidity of firing at an unseen aircraft (do spy planes display navigation lights) is compounded by the utter failure to CYA. Anybody with an ounce of intelligence should have realised that an 18 burst is going to be (audibly) noticed and came up with an excuse that didn't involve an international incident.

Test fire after maintenance, training exercise, even tiger attack, could have covered up a DOH! moment. Unless this officer is really well connected the only thing he shot down was his career.

[LomSak27]

They say the biggest lies told in Thailand are the ones Expats tell themslves

Got a Tuna!

[Moruya]

Gee so you are NOT thinking that this incident was made up just to embarass Yingluck? and a family member? Come on, we have just had the FARCE of the NASA conspiracy, but you guys bite again.

Fish On!

I don't like Thaksin myself but the other sides games are pretty transparent and juvinile. And yep they seem to spend most of their time coming up with games to play. Imagine if they actually came up with something about governing the country.??! Naw they won't do that

what games? If any, the Cambodian army were playing Star Wars with a commercial passenger jet and the PTP coupled with Hun Sen are trying to whitewash it - very dangerous!

[OzMick]

They say the biggest lies told in Thailand are the ones Expats tell themslves

Got a Tuna!

I think that's a bonefish your playing.

[badgerbailey]

Gee so you are NOT thinking that this incident was made up just to embarass Yingluck? and a family member? Come on, we have just had the FARCE of the NASA conspiracy, but you guys bite again.

Fish On!

I don't like Thaksin myself but the other sides games are pretty transparent and juvinile. And yep they seem to spend most of their time coming up with games to play. Imagine if they actually came up with something about governing the country.??! Naw they won't do that

what games? If any, the Cambodian army were playing Star Wars with a commercial passenger jet and the PTP coupled with Hun Sen are trying to whitewash it - very dangerous!

But most sources are saying that everyone is denying it, including Bangkok Airways, the only person who seems to be pushing this crazy idea is the crazy man who started it all. Completely full of sh*t! and now see how Abhisit and his silly little schoolboy friends are demanding that an inquiry take place when everyone is already saying it didn't happen, just trying to stir up silly nationalism to stop the PTP getting on with their jobs. I thought I had more respect for Abhisit before now but every day he just makes himself look more like a fool, they think that they can make up some cr*p and everyone will believe it, oxford educated but the common sense of a twit.

[otherstuff1957]

But most sources are saying that everyone is denying it, including Bangkok Airways, the only person who seems to be pushing this crazy idea is the crazy man who started it all. Completely full of sh*t! and now see how Abhisit and his silly little schoolboy friends are demanding that an inquiry take place when everyone is already saying it didn't happen, just trying to stir up silly nationalism to stop the PTP getting on with their jobs. I thought I had more respect for Abhisit before now but every day he just makes himself look more like a fool, they think that they can make up some cr*p and everyone will believe it, oxford educated but the common sense of a twit.

Yes, obviously Abhisit made this all up just to embarrass Yingluck. He even went so far as to get a Cambodian Army officer (obviously a Thai Amart in disguise! ) to comment about it to AFP:

Cambodian military at the border -- the site of deadly territorial clashes between the neighbouring countries last year -- confirmed troops had opened fire at an aircraft.

"It was dark so we could not see what type of plane it was. But it was circling many times and then our soldiers fired 18 shots from a machine gun, but it missed the plane because it was flying very high," Commander Seng Phearin told AFP.

"I think a passenger plane would not fly around the border. We suspected it was a spy plane, so we fired to defend our airspace," he said, adding the aircraft had been around 10 kilometres (six miles) inside Cambodia.

He said the incident happened at 19:00 local time (1200GMT) on Wednesday, although the Thai authorities said it occurred Thursday morning.

[OzMick]

Gee so you are NOT thinking that this incident was made up just to embarass Yingluck? and a family member? Come on, we have just had the FARCE of the NASA conspiracy, but you guys bite again.

Fish On!

I don't like Thaksin myself but the other sides games are pretty transparent and juvinile. And yep they seem to spend most of their time coming up with games to play. Imagine if they actually came up with something about governing the country.??! Naw they won't do that

what games? If any, the Cambodian army were playing Star Wars with a commercial passenger jet and the PTP coupled with Hun Sen are trying to whitewash it - very dangerous!

But most sources are saying that everyone is denying it, including Bangkok Airways, the only person who seems to be pushing this crazy idea is the crazy man who started it all. Completely full of sh*t! and now see how Abhisit and his silly little schoolboy friends are demanding that an inquiry take place when everyone is already saying it didn't happen, just trying to stir up silly nationalism to stop the PTP getting on with their jobs. I thought I had more respect for Abhisit before now but every day he just makes himself look more like a fool, they think that they can make up some cr*p and everyone will believe it, oxford educated but the common sense of a twit.

this was a border incident. Reports of shots fired came from the army on both sides of the border, and some idiot admitted his stupidity. Pilots of a plane thousands of metres up in the clouds didn't notice it (how surprising). Now a swathe of senior officers and politicians who weren't within a 1000 km of the event say it didn't happen to avoid the international repercussions, and we should believe them?

[JurgenG]

Thailand, Cambodia investigate allegations that Cambodian troops fired on Bangkok Airways jet

http://www.washingto...13gW_story.html

A anonymous source, Bangkok Airways says it has no report of such incident ...

It wouldn't be the first time that the local press has been manipulated by a a group lead by a person who has been convicted for fraud and defamation

[Moruya]

Gee so you are NOT thinking that this incident was made up just to embarass Yingluck? and a family member? Come on, we have just had the FARCE of the NASA conspiracy, but you guys bite again.

Fish On!

I don't like Thaksin myself but the other sides games are pretty transparent and juvinile. And yep they seem to spend most of their time coming up with games to play. Imagine if they actually came up with something about governing the country.??! Naw they won't do that

what games? If any, the Cambodian army were playing Star Wars with a commercial passenger jet and the PTP coupled with Hun Sen are trying to whitewash it - very dangerous!

But most sources are saying that everyone is denying it, including Bangkok Airways, the only person who seems to be pushing this crazy idea is the crazy man who started it all. Completely full of sh*t! and now see how Abhisit and his silly little schoolboy friends are demanding that an inquiry take place when everyone is already saying it didn't happen, just trying to stir up silly nationalism to stop the PTP getting on with their jobs. I thought I had more respect for Abhisit before now but every day he just makes himself look more like a fool, they think that they can make up some cr*p and everyone will believe it, oxford educated but the common sense of a twit.

No. The "sources" are far from impartial and are basically saying "no dead bodies, no evidence"

[PoorSucker]

Gee so you are NOT thinking that this incident was made up just to embarass Yingluck? and a family member? Come on, we have just had the FARCE of the NASA conspiracy, but you guys bite again.

Fish On!

I don't like Thaksin myself but the other sides games are pretty transparent and juvinile. And yep they seem to spend most of their time coming up with games to play. Imagine if they actually came up with something about governing the country.??! Naw they won't do that

"Cambodia's supreme commander said to the press later that there was a shooting, but that it was ordered out of a misunderstanding that the passenger jet was a spy plane."

dam_n lying Cambodians.

[badgerbailey]

But most sources are saying that everyone is denying it, including Bangkok Airways, the only person who seems to be pushing this crazy idea is the crazy man who started it all. Completely full of sh*t! and now see how Abhisit and his silly little schoolboy friends are demanding that an inquiry take place when everyone is already saying it didn't happen, just trying to stir up silly nationalism to stop the PTP getting on with their jobs. I thought I had more respect for Abhisit before now but every day he just makes himself look more like a fool, they think that they can make up some cr*p and everyone will believe it, oxford educated but the common sense of a twit.

Yes, obviously Abhisit made this all up just to embarrass Yingluck. He even went so far as to get a Cambodian Army officer (obviously a Thai Amart in disguise! ) to comment about it to AFP:

Cambodian military at the border -- the site of deadly territorial clashes between the neighbouring countries last year -- confirmed troops had opened fire at an aircraft.

"It was dark so we could not see what type of plane it was. But it was circling many times and then our soldiers fired 18 shots from a machine gun, but it missed the plane because it was flying very high," Commander Seng Phearin told AFP.

"I think a passenger plane would not fly around the border. We suspected it was a spy plane, so we fired to defend our airspace," he said, adding the aircraft had been around 10 kilometres (six miles) inside Cambodia.

He said the incident happened at 19:00 local time (1200GMT) on Wednesday, although the Thai authorities said it occurred Thursday morning.

Thought it was the Thai army that started all this?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/569478-cambodian-troops-fire-at-bangkok-airways-jet-thai-army/

[OzMick]

Thailand, Cambodia investigate allegations that Cambodian troops fired on Bangkok Airways jet

http://www.washingto...13gW_story.html

A anonymous source, Bangkok Airways says it has no report of such incident ...

It wouldn't be the first time that the local press has been manipulated by a a group lead by a person who has been convicted for fraud and defamation

Deputy RTA spokesman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong and Commander Seng Phearin (Cambodian Army) qualify as anonymous sources? And the BA pilots a few miles up in the clouds noticed nothing, so obviously it never happened.

[MaiChai]

Thai politicians are so predictable: if in doubt deny it...

[MEL1]

Must be really scary at 36,000ft hearing and seeing an AK-47 shred load of bullets coming up in the distant background, as you have flown past faster than they can get to altitude, that being that they don't even have accurate capacity beyond 800ft, or there abouts.

It would take a magician to plot the wind speed, angle of fire, exact timing and aircraft speed at 36,000 ft to hit a passenger airplane.

However, the article doesn't mention what was fired.

My guess is that it was some yaba induced farmer, who got some land taken off his family by the Thais in the 15th century, who shot his home made monkey dart thinking Her Harmonica Mouth Majestic Unluck was aboard the plane, poor sod.

Hope he had a great night seeing himself on his little wound up portable TV making the news though!

-mel.

[pacovl46]

Why would the Cambodians say it happened when it didn't????

[thaicbr]

Must be really scary at 36,000ft hearing and seeing an AK-47 shred load of bullets coming up in the distant background, as you have flown past faster than they can get to altitude, that being that they don't even have accurate capacity beyond 800ft, or there abouts.

It would take a magician to plot the wind speed, angle of fire, exact timing and aircraft speed at 36,000 ft to hit a passenger airplane.

However, the article doesn't mention what was fired.

My guess is that it was some yaba induced farmer, who got some land taken off his family by the Thais in the 15th century, who shot his home made monkey dart thinking Her Harmonica Mouth Majestic Unluck was aboard the plane, poor sod.

Hope he had a great night seeing himself on his little wound up portable TV making the news though!

-mel.

If the plane was circling to land then it probably was not at 36 thousand feet. And if it was anti aircraft guns firing then it could have been bad. Of course all ifs.

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