Nok Air Fails To Lift Off, Skids Off Runway

[george]

Nok Air fails to lift off, skids off runway

BANGKOK: -- A Thai budget airline jetliner skidded off a runway Sunday afternoon as it was making an emergency landing at Bangkok International Airport following engine trouble, according to company executives.

Somchainuk Engtrakul, acting president national carrier Thai Airways International, Nok Air's parent company, said some 109 passengers were aboard Nok Air flight DD7506.

The Boeing 737-400 was departing Bangkok to the southern resort island of Phuket Sunday afternoon but was forced to abort its takeoff shortly after the left engine developed trouble and stopped functioning before it lifted off.

The problem forced the plane to skid off the runway, according to Mr. Somchainuk.

THAI emergency centre director Surapol Isarangkura na Ayutthaya said that all passengers were safe and that no one was injured. They were transferred to another aircraft.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the engine malfunction, he said.

--TNA 2006-02-05

[chuchok]

Nice! I was just about to book them........

[lopburi3]

The aircraft on the evening news was still in the Thai Airways colors.

[SurferDude]

The sometimes use Thai Airways planes, and all of these planes are maintained by Thai Airways mechanics. Thai plane / Nok plane / same same.

[chuchok]

The aircraft on the evening news was still in the Thai Airways colors.

They do share on a couple of routes, but if they are still in TG colours does it mean.

A)forgot to paint the plane (and change the staff)

B)Nok staff but TG plane

C)TG staff and TG plane

D)Who really knows

E)All of the above

[AsiaWolfie]

well, as THAI INTERNATIONAL is already ranking around 87/88 out of 90something big airlines when it comes to safety, what would u expect from its own low-budget carrier ? NOK is using the old B 737-aircrafts which are unwanted at THAI due to their age.....

but honestly, this can happen to any of those airlines...... the "1-2-go" planes are even more scary.... but in the end its all destiny anyway.... wish me luck for my next ThaiAirAsia flight in a couple of days..... "NOW EVERYONE CAN......SKID OFF THE RUNWAY"

[Rinrada]

QUANTAS did the same a couple of years ago......

[lingling]

The aircraft on the evening news was still in the Thai Airways colors.

They do share on a couple of routes, but if they are still in TG colours does it mean.

A)forgot to paint the plane (and change the staff)

B)Nok staff but TG plane

C)TG staff and TG plane

D)Who really knows

E)All of the above

All Nok aircraft are leased from TG and maintained by TG, some are painted in the bird colors, others not. Cabin crew etc are Nok staff. I would guess that this is a newly leased plane that had not yet been painted with the Nok artwork.

[george]

A Nok Air plane makes emergency landing

BANGKOK: -- An airliner of Nok Air with 110 passengers made an emergency landing at the Don Muang Airport Sunday afternoon minutes after taking off.

Officials from the Control Tower said the DD 7506 flight of Nok Air heading to Bangkok made the emergency landing at 2 pm after taking off at 1:48 pm.

Surapol Isarangkul na Ayutthaya, director of the Emergency Operation Centre of THAI, said the Boeing 737's second engine developed problem so it turned around for an emergency landing.

Surapol said the plane skidded off the runway during the landing but all passengers were safe.

--The Nation 2006-02-05

[airbus3888]

Quote:

THAI emergency centre director Surapol Isarangkura na Ayutthaya said that all passengers were safe and that no one was injured. They were transferred to another aircraft.

He forgot to add that all crew and passengers were given a change of trousers before transferring to the new plane!

[chuchok]

Quote:

THAI emergency centre director Surapol Isarangkura na Ayutthaya said that all passengers were safe and that no one was injured. They were transferred to another aircraft.

He forgot to add that all crew and passengers were given a change of trousers before transferring to the new plane!

Except the ones already wearing brown trou.....no need to change.

[Eneukman]

Nice! I was just about to book them........

Same here! Actually may still do as the chances of something similar happening again is ....

Alan

[Greer]

Did they end up off the end or off one side - maybe they thought the Qantas Hole on the golf course needed a bit of sprucing up...

Poor buggers - I fly a lot and I can imagine how terrifying it must have been for all involved - passengers AND crew - after all, the crew who fly them are as much at the mercy of the mechanicals of the vehicle as anyone - in fact of course more so.

I was due to fly out of Don Muang Sunday evening, but I had to delay my flight a day (not because of this incident), so I was wondering what the impact was on other scheduled flights during the day.

[LazyCat]

IMHO this can happen to any plane at any time... but fun to read your comments about the throusers !

[cdnvic]

Losing an engine at a time like that requires a split second decision to avoid a catastrophy. Kudos to the flight crew for keeping their cool, and the cabin crew for getting everyone out unhurt. A moment of indecision could have turned this into a tragedy.

Btw, 1-2-Go has a more modern domestic fleet now, and AirAisa's 737s are an older series than the ones flown by Nok, but neither are exceptionally old. Many major western airlines fly the identical models.

cv

[ronz28]

Congratulations to the pilot for having the wisdom to terminate the flight and the skill to prevent the deaths of the crew and passengers.

[chuchok]

Quote:

THAI emergency centre director Surapol Isarangkura na Ayutthaya said that all passengers were safe and that no one was injured. They were transferred to another aircraft.

He forgot to add that all crew and passengers were given a change of trousers before transferring to the new plane!

According to you there were only men on the aircraft!

This happens all around the world from time to time including UK and USA. Thankfully nobody was injured.

If you've got nothing better to say then shut it.

have you been drinking?

[cdnvic]

Quote:

THAI emergency centre director Surapol Isarangkura na Ayutthaya said that all passengers were safe and that no one was injured. They were transferred to another aircraft.

He forgot to add that all crew and passengers were given a change of trousers before transferring to the new plane!

According to you there were only men on the aircraft!

This happens all around the world from time to time including UK and USA. Thankfully nobody was injured.

If you've got nothing better to say then shut it.

have you been drinking?

It made no sense to me either but I just attributed it to my just waking up.... thanks for the confirmation.

cv

[sabaijai]

Congratulations to the pilot for having the wisdom to terminate the flight and the skill to prevent the deaths of the crew and passengers.

Ditto. I fly Nok Air regularly and rather than putting me off, the way this engine malfunction was handled gives me a little more confidence in the pilots.

[KhunFon]

IMHO this can happen to any plane at any time... but fun to read your comments about the throusers !

Yes, but to some it happens more often.... Both with aircraft and trousers...

[sonthaya]

Congratulations to the pilot for having the wisdom to terminate the flight and the skill to prevent the deaths of the crew and passengers.

Ditto. I fly Nok Air regularly and rather than putting me off, the way this engine malfunction was handled gives me a little more confidence in the pilots.

That's the right attitude, they did what they had to under the circumstances, I'm a retired airline pilot with more than 25000 hours in the logbook, and I think the crew did very well.

[chuchok]

Congratulations to the pilot for having the wisdom to terminate the flight and the skill to prevent the deaths of the crew and passengers.

Ditto. I fly Nok Air regularly and rather than putting me off, the way this engine malfunction was handled gives me a little more confidence in the pilots.

I can't totally agree here.I may be harsh, but the pilots are doing a job that they have been trained to do.I would be more worried about the state of the plane and the maintainance record for this to happen.

[Xeque]

As others have said here, I wouldn't worry about maintenance. Thai Inter (who handle NOK's maintenance) is a world class airline and I (personally) have no problems flying with them oe anyone associated with them.

It's interesting that one engine failed on lift off followed (I think it was George who reported it) the second showing problems soon after. Full marks to the guys up front for getting it round and back down again ASAP.

Failure in both engines these days is very rare. This might be a fuel problem.

[Oishi]

Wonder which version is the correct one…does anyone have more info?

It the first post is says:

Nok Air fails to lift off, skids off runway

The Boeing 737-400 was departing Bangkok to the southern resort island of Phuket Sunday afternoon but was forced to abort its takeoff shortly after the left engine developed trouble and stopped functioning before it lifted off.

But in this post is says:

A Nok Air plane makes emergency landing

Officials from the Control Tower said the DD 7506 flight of Nok Air heading to Bangkok made the emergency landing at 2 pm after taking off at 1:48 pm.

In the first version the engine failure occurred on the runway forcing the pilot to do they right thing and abort take off. And then the skidding is a clear factor with that much trust on engine 1.

But in the second version the plane was airborne, flying a go around for 12 minutes.

Now if that was a bigger machine it would have had to dump fuel before landing. Instead they might have been using the "dirty up the airplane" using more fuel by dropping the gear or flaps.

Flying on one engine is not a major issue. But I don’t see why it would have to skidd of the runway after flying for 12 minutes. Unless they calculated their weight on landing wrongly.

sonthaya are you awake to answer

[george]

Update:

Nok Air flight skids off runway, 8 hurt

BANGKOK: -- A Nok Air Boeing 737 skidded off a runway at Don Muang airport yesterday after being forced to make an emergency landing due to an engine problem.

Eight of its 110 passengers sustained minor injuries.

The injured passengers, including one Western woman, sprained their ankles while exiting from the aircraft after the landing. Although most used the emergency exits as instructed by the flight crew, some of them jumped from the aircraft’s wing in panic. No official statement about the injuries was released by Thai Airways, the parent company of the budget airline.

Somchainuek Engtrakul, acting managing director of the national flag carrier, had initially said that none of the passengers had been injured.

One passenger said that flight DD 7506 from Bangkok to Phuket had been delayed for an hour without explanation from either Thai Airways or the Airports of Thailand before finally taking off at 2.20pm.

Jitsak Limpakornkul said the aircraft’s starboard engine exploded and was engulfed in flame just five minutes after take-off.

The plane circled Don Muang Airport for 10 minutes before landing, he said, adding that black smoke was billowing from the starboard side of the fuselage as passengers were being evacuated.

Therdphong Phakphiankul, another passenger, said he was impressed with the pilot in making a safe landing and the decision to avoid possible panic among passengers by not informing them of the problem prior to the landing.

However, he said a lot of passengers later became upset because of the slow transfer to another flight so they could continue their onward journey.

“We were kept in a processing room for two hours without explanation or even drinking water,” he said.

“Those who wanted a refund on their tickets had to queue up to do the paperwork, and will now have to wait another 15 days to get the money back.”

A spokeswoman for the Airports of Thailand, which operates the country’s airports, confirmed that the aircraft had skidded off the runway.

“The Nok Air flight from Bangkok to Phuket sought an emergency landing at Bangkok International Airport because its right engine had developed a problem,” another airport security official said.

“No one was injured during the landing,” he said, adding that smoke from the engine was extinguished as the passengers were evacuated.

--The Nation 2006-02-06

[Oishi]

Thanks George...gives the story a whole new aspect.

[pepsi666]

Happens to them all, its happened to BA, Virgin, Qauntas, so its nothing new, dont get all het up over it, as long as you have planes and people there will always be something simular happening, I'd be happy to use them,

Its not the airlines or pilots that I'd worry abot, I'd be more worried about the tuk-tuk and cab drivers (the aircraft have maintainence done on them, the pilots have refresher courses)

The tuk-tuk and cab drivers has running shoes and a plausable explanation

Book me on the next flight

Edited February 5, 2006 by pepsi666

[AsiaWolfie]

wow, after those detailled informations are now being made public I must say, that was very very close to a big distaster..... and who said here b4 that thai is a world class airline ? when it comes to safety, they are one of the WORST big airlines in the world, their safety record (based on FACTS and numbers) is even worse than those of GARUDA or Philippine Airlines....

and about CDNVIC's comment on 1-2-go: maybe u had the luck to sit in a newer plane.... but I was forced to travel them (for the first and last time, I hope) from BKK to HKT in November 2005, and though the c-crew was friendly (unprofessional, but in a charming way) and even they had a Farang pilot, that was the most scary aircraft out of about 200 flights I ever boarded....

[chuchok]

As others have said here, I wouldn't worry about maintenance. Thai Inter (who handle NOK's maintenance) is a world class airline and I (personally) have no problems flying with them oe anyone associated with them.

It's interesting that one engine failed on lift off followed (I think it was George who reported it) the second showing problems soon after. Full marks to the guys up front for getting it round and back down again ASAP.

Failure in both engines these days is very rare. This might be a fuel problem.

World class in what way? They wouldn't rate within the top 30 airlines when it comes to safty.BTW,I fly them too.....or....er...flew them....

[Xeque]

Chuchok...

There is an earlier quote in this thread that says (if I'm right) Thai Inter ranks in the high 80's of the 90 worlds best airlines. I fly around 25,000 miles a year as a passenger ( I also fly myself as a PPL) and I reiterate - I have no problem flying Thai Inter.