Flight TG669 skids off runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport

[Bpuumike]

I am a retired Captain from a major international airline. Let me say that I agree that this could hardly be considered a "Safe Landing". Also, All airliners are certified to fly on one engine. Even if they have 4 (Exceptions being some Russian and military planes with many engines. Losing an engine is basically not an emergency in the aircraft manual, but only an abnormality procedure.

What happened this morning is unknown. There are many possibilities that I could list, but speculation is worthless. Wait for the facts to come out and keep the

comments on the accident to those of sympathy for the injured.

Thai Airways Airbus 330 skidded off Bangkok runway; 12 passengers injured

The Director of the Suvarnabhumi Airport revealed that the airbus reported a fire in its engine and took an emergency landing, before sliding off track. Most of the passengers were Chinese. Fortunately, only a small number of passengers were hurt, with only 3 being sent to the nearest hospital. The eastern runway is currently out of use and may cause slight delays to other flights as flight re-scheduling is necessary, the Director said.

-- NNT 2013-09-09

I'm not among those speculating about the causes at this point, because the information being publicly reported is too unreliable and scattered.

This latest announcement quotes the airport director as saying there was an engine fire and emergency landing declared FIRST, before the skidding off the runway. Which is contrary to the prior news reports posted here.

Of course, this same NNT report also talks about damage to the "propellers" of the Airbus jet... So perhaps best taken with a grain of salt.

Probably 'impellers' but lost in translation.

Sounds like the flight deck crew did a good job.

[pgrin]

1) How is it possible in 2013 that every single take-off and landing at every single airport around the world is not video recorded, from multiple angles, in hi-def?

2) Does anybody remember a few years ago a Thai Air airbus leaving the runway at Swampy, damaging thousands of dollars of airport landing lights. The crew wrestled the plane back on the runway, pulled up to the gate and left without explanation to the stunned passengers. The next day some Thai Air hi-so angrily denied it ever happened.

[sustento]

Gotta love these fuzzy news stories......Did the plane veer off the runway which caused the nose to fail of course,

or did the nose gear fail on landing causing the plane to veer off the runway ? Or is spin control already at work....

Or does no-one yet know all the facts of what happened?

[webfact]

AOT: Repair work on runway to be completed on Sep 11 after THAI accident

BANGKOK, 9 September 2013 (NNT) - Airports of Thailand has announced that due to the closure of parts of the eastern runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport following an accident on Sunday, most flights will be delayed by 30 minutes.

AOT board chairman Sita Divari said the clean-up operation should be completed by Wednesday. As the runway is open only to small aircraft, about 35 flights had been delayed on Monday morning.

He added that Don Mueang and U-Tapao airports have been selected as back-up airports in a bid to facilitate passengers.

An Airbus 330-300 operated by Thai Airways International skidded off the runway at Bangkok's main international airport after the nose wheel collapsed on landing late Sunday night.

The flight from Guangzhou, China, was carrying 288 passengers and 14 crew members. Passengers were evacuated using emergency slides and the 14 injured were sent to a Bangkok hospital.

The incident came after another accident involving a Thai Airways plane late last month when about 20 passengers and a cabin attendant on a THAI A-380 flight to Hong Kong were injured during strong turbulence.

-- NNT 2013-09-09

[Ricardo]

The sooner AAT finish-off the completion of the third-runway at Swampy, the sooner they will have some spare capacity, when things like this happen.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Ricardo

[grimblegrumble]

I too find it hilarious they have blacked out the name on the aircraft. It really does beggar belief. Makes them more of a laughing stock IMHO

[Timwin]

I don't fly in any model Airbus. Look up their record. They have to many "incidents".

There are French, British and other nationalities working on Airbus planes. The British make several

Models of the Rolls Royce engines which are very good engines.

I just don't want a plane that was made by people speaking different languages. There is to much

Technical date involved.

Jay-sus, how old are you? 90? Your info about planes is a "bit" outdated!

FYI, Boeing planes are also designed/made by a lot of different nationalities. French, Japanese and Italian companies are manufacturing many parts to the Dreamliner 787, among many many others and also to many other models. Both companies have very complex global manufacturing network.

Airbus btw is moving to Seattle when Boeing is moving to southern states. Airbus might actually end up saving many high paying jobs in Washington state!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Sounds like the flight deck crew did a good job.

There was a claim posted earlier in this thread saying that some passengers aboard the airplane said the cabin crew bailed the aircraft as soon as the exit doors opened -- ahead of the passengers.

Haven't seen any further mention or elaboration of that issue. Perhaps not true, but an odd allegation to be floating around.

[FalangBaa]

It wasn't technically a crash...it was only a "runway excursion"

Thai International...Smooth As Silk

So what are the passengers complaining about? It's not every day you get a free excursion around Bangkok included with your flight.

[mikemac]

There was a claim posted earlier in this thread saying that some passengers aboard the airplane said the cabin crew bailed the aircraft as soon as the exit doors opened -- ahead of the passengers.

It probably came from a Thai basher. I have heard a lot worse from them and it was crap as well.

[itchybum]

Sounds like the flight deck crew did a good job.

There was a claim posted earlier in this thread saying that some passengers aboard the airplane said the cabin crew bailed the aircraft as soon as the exit doors opened -- ahead of the passengers.

Haven't seen any further mention or elaboration of that issue. Perhaps not true, but an odd allegation to be floating around.

Nothing wrong with a big 'follow me'

[mikemac]

I don't fly in any model Airbus. Look up their record. They have to many "incidents".

There are French, British and other nationalities working on Airbus planes. The British make several

Models of the Rolls Royce engines which are very good engines.

I just don't want a plane that was made by people speaking different languages. There is to much

Technical date involved.

"I just don't want a plane that was made by people speaking different languages. There is to much

Technical date involved." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn, got to be the funniest comment I have read on TV for a long time ! Thanks mate...............

[poohy]

Whoops !Interesting comment on Pprune

Quote:

A Thai Airways official, Smud Poom-on, said that blurring the logo after an accident was a recommendation from Star Alliance known as the "crisis communication rule", meant to protect the image of both the airline and other members of Star Alliance.

Well it has not worked as most newspapers are now using this event as part of the story and Thai Airways features in all the headlines.

[GreenSnapper]

Sounds like the flight deck crew did a good job.

There was a claim posted earlier in this thread saying that some passengers aboard the airplane said the cabin crew bailed the aircraft as soon as the exit doors opened -- ahead of the passengers.

Haven't seen any further mention or elaboration of that issue. Perhaps not true, but an odd allegation to be floating around.

Don't Thai kids learn at school that you make a runner whenever something unexpected happens?

Joke aside, years ago when an Indonesian airliner had a severe crash, the first who fled the plane was the whole crew.

Edited September 9, 2013 by GreenSnapper

[webfact]

THAI issues statement on accident at Suvarnabhumi Airport

BANGKOK: -- Thai Airways International on MOnday issued a statement, clarifying the accident that its TG 679 from Guangzhou, China, skidded off the runway upon landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sunday night.

Sorajak Kasemsuvan, THAI President, said that on September 8, flight TG 679, operated with Airbus A330-300 aircraft, departed from Guangzhou to Bangkok at 9.25pm (local time in Guangzhou) and arrived in Bangkok at 11.20pm.

"After touchdown at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the landing gear malfunctioned and caused the aircraft to skid off the runway. Sparks were noticed from the vicinity of the right landing gear near the engine; the matter is under investigation," read the statement.

The captain took control of the aircraft until it came to a complete stop and passengers were evacuated from the aircraft emergency exits. The operation was conducted by the captain and cabin crew strictly according to emergency procedures.

The aircraft carried 288 passengers and 14 cabin crew. Initially, 13 passengers received minor injuries while evacuating the aircraft. THAI staff provided assistance to passengers and transfer those injured to hospital. THAI will conduct an investigation as to the cause of the incident.

THAI regrets any inconvenience to passengers. For more information, passengers may contact the Company's Crisis Management Operations Center (CMOC) at Tel. 02-545-3181, 24-hours a day.


-- The Nation 2013-09-09

[cdnvic]

I too find it hilarious they have blacked out the name on the aircraft. It really does beggar belief. Makes them more of a laughing stock IMHO

Quite common with many carriers to do this, but I agree it's ridiculous.

[peecee]

That looks a bit more then just skidding a bit the runway, good luck no one's hurt badly. I said that before Thai Airways lost its credibility, they have major cash problems, bad management, that leads to endured use of old aircrafts, probably and no first class maintenance anymore to economise because being under pressure of business competition which often leads to bad service and personnel. Some more incidents they can also say good bye being a member of Star Alliance. An airplane crash in our days easily leads to a bankruptcy with almost no point of return even for a major carrier like TG, look at Lufthansa why do they spent thatkind of tremendous effort on safety because it would extrem to recoup from an aircraft loss, finacially and due to the damaged image. But have we not heard lately the problems of Thai Airways are due to the exchange rates! If not some many lives depends on every flight I would be laughing!

Hey, at least they reacted swiftly to the situation, on the other paper there's a photo of Thai Airways maintenance crews covering the logo on the tail with black paint.

Loss of face thing, I noticed the Thai logo on the fwd fuselage was painted out overnight. Obviously their highest priority!

I reported a fuel/oil leak from a 747's No2 ecu. The purser came along and took a look and said it was water. I pointed out that at 36000' it was a bit cold out on the wing and perhaps he might like to go and get the co-pilot to have a look and log it. No one turned up but the purser did take my name and address to allow the airline to write and thank me for my flight safety awareness. Needless to say I never got a letter!

[itchybum]

before...

after...

[Tywais]

The nosewheel of any aeroplane ( a taildragger does'nt have one of course!) has never been designed to withstand an initial impact on landing. If that were to happen then the nosewheel would fail. For this reason, pilots 'flare' the aeroplane just before touchdown so that it land on its main wheels i.e. to keep the nosewheel out of it thereby allowing it to sink naturally with diminishing speed.

The primary reasons for the flare is to arrest the descent rate and to slow the aircraft landing speed. The nose wheel is a distant third in the equation.

[mikemac]

To be honest I have never even heard of this practice of painting out the airline logo on crashed planes. And it obviously does not work because every crash report I have ever seen or heard has mentioned to airline responsible. Never heard a report that said "We are not sure which airline it is, because someone has painted out the logo".

[Timwin]

Loss of face thing, I noticed the Thai logo on the fwd fuselage was painted out overnight. Obviously their highest priority!

I reported a fuel/oil leak from a 747's No2 ecu. The purser came along and took a look and said it was water. I pointed out that at 36000' it was a bit cold out on the wing and perhaps he might like to go and get the co-pilot to have a look and log it. No one turned up but the purser did take my name and address to allow the airline to write and thank me for my flight safety awareness. Needless to say I never got a letter!

Another wannabee expert. If there is an oil leak, I'd bet it will show in the cockpit panels. It could be actually water, thin atmosphere plus the pressure changes around the plane. The faster you go, the lower the pressure.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Timwin

[Shrubbery]

"After the accident and evacuation of passengers by slide, the airline moved in maintenance crews who immediately began work that partly covered up the Thai Airways International logo on the tail of the aircraft. (Photo by Panumas Sanguanwong)"

I dont think we will ever see the end of this ridiculous act of saving face.

It's not an uncommon practice for airlines to do this.

[GreenSnapper]

To be honest I have never even heard of this practice of painting out the airline logo on crashed planes. And it obviously does not work because every crash report I have ever seen or heard has mentioned to airline responsible. Never heard a report that said "We are not sure which airline it is, because someone has painted out the logo".

It's more a psychological measure so that other passengers from the same airline are not too scared when they see the crashed plane.

[jayboy]

Whoops !Interesting comment on Pprune

Quote:

A Thai Airways official, Smud Poom-on, said that blurring the logo after an accident was a recommendation from Star Alliance known as the "crisis communication rule", meant to protect the image of both the airline and other members of Star Alliance.

Well it has not worked as most newspapers are now using this event as part of the story and Thai Airways features in all the headlines.

Indeed it hasn't.The Times (UK) has a frontpage story about the incident, specifically regarding the blacking out of the TG logo.It says "How not to handle a corporate crsis:lesson number one".

Sorry can't link because of paywall.

Incidentally the moronic TG spokesman who put this idiocy down to Star Alliance policy is either a liar or devoid of all commonsense.Star Alliance members include serious airlines like SQ,ANZ, Lufthansa and United - none of which would makle fools of themselves (crappy landing apart) in this all too typical and revealing Thai Inter way

[peecee]

Sounds like the flight deck crew did a good job.

There was a claim posted earlier in this thread saying that some passengers aboard the airplane said the cabin crew bailed the aircraft as soon as the exit doors opened -- ahead of the passengers.

Haven't seen any further mention or elaboration of that issue. Perhaps not true, but an odd allegation to be floating around.

I heard Captain Francesco Schettino was the first one off!

[bander]

That looks a bit more then just skidding a bit the runway, good luck no one's hurt badly. I said that before Thai Airways lost its credibility, they have major cash problems, bad management, that leads to endured use of old aircrafts, probably and no first class maintenance anymore to economise because being under pressure of business competition which often leads to bad service and personnel. Some more incidents they can also say good bye being a member of Star Alliance. An airplane crash in our days easily leads to a bankruptcy with almost no point of return even for a major carrier like TG, look at Lufthansa why do they spent thatkind of tremendous effort on safety because it would extrem to recoup from an aircraft loss, finacially and due to the damaged image. But have we not heard lately the problems of Thai Airways are due to the exchange rates! If not some many lives depends on every flight I would be laughing!

Hey, at least they reacted swiftly to the situation, on the other paper there's a photo of Thai Airways maintenance crews covering the logo on the tail with black paint. alt=facepalm.gif width=24 height=18>

Loss of face thing, I noticed the Thai logo on the fwd fuselage was painted out overnight. Obviously their highest priority!

I reported a fuel/oil leak from a 747's No2 ecu. The purser came along and took a look and said it was water. I pointed out that at 36000' it was a bit cold out on the wing and perhaps he might like to go and get the co-pilot to have a look and log it. No one turned up but the purser did take my name and address to allow the airline to write and thank me for my flight safety awareness. Needless to say I never got a letter!

No need to tell anybody on a thai airplane if they have a failure, worst case scenario you get arrested for trying to create panic on board

[jamhar]

http://news.yahoo.com/thai-airways-skids-off-runway-14-passengers-hurt-062411854.html

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai Airways plane carrying more than 280 people skidded off the runway while landing at Bangkok's main airport, injuring 14 passengers, the airline said Monday.

After the accident, workers on a crane blacked out the Thai Airways logo on the tail and body of the aircraft, as part of an effort to protect its image according to Star Alliance guidelines, an official said. It was the second mishap in less than two weeks for Thailand's national carrier.

The Airbus A330-300 that departed from Guangzhou, China, had a "glitch" in its wheel base while landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport late Sunday, the airline said. Photos taken after the incident showed deep furrows from skid marks in a grassy area off the runway leading to the stalled aircraft, resting with its nose down and emergency slides inflated.

"After the accident, workers on a crane blacked out the Thai Airways logo on the tail and body of the aircraft, as part of an effort to protect its image"

[MaxYakov]

I am a retired Captain from a major international airline. Let me say that I agree that this could hardly be considered a "Safe Landing". Also, All airliners are certified to fly on one engine. Even if they have 4 (Exceptions being some Russian and military planes with many engines. Losing an engine is basically not an emergency in the aircraft manual, but only an abnormality procedure.

What happened this morning is unknown. There are many possibilities that I could list, but speculation is worthless. Wait for the facts to come out and keep the

comments on the accident to those of sympathy for the injured.

Thai Airways Airbus 330 skidded off Bangkok runway; 12 passengers injured

The Director of the Suvarnabhumi Airport revealed that the airbus reported a fire in its engine and took an emergency landing, before sliding off track. Most of the passengers were Chinese. Fortunately, only a small number of passengers were hurt, with only 3 being sent to the nearest hospital. The eastern runway is currently out of use and may cause slight delays to other flights as flight re-scheduling is necessary, the Director said.

-- NNT 2013-09-09

I'm not among those speculating about the causes at this point, because the information being publicly reported is too unreliable and scattered.

This latest announcement quotes the airport director as saying there was an engine fire and emergency landing declared FIRST, before the skidding off the runway. Which is contrary to the prior news reports posted here.

Of course, this same NNT report also talks about damage to the "propellers" of the Airbus jet... So perhaps best taken with a grain of salt.

Probably 'impellers' but lost in translation.

Sounds like the flight deck crew did a good job.

Agree that it was probably literally 'translated' rather than 'interpreted'. It could be referring literally to the jet engines that 'propel' the aircraft (making them 'propellers'). Perhaps a Thai/English interpreter could verify this hypothesis? I doubt they were referring to either 'impellers' (fluid pumps) or jet engine compressor blades (although a turbofan engine does get a part of its thrust from ducted fan thrust). I prefer 'propulsion units' myself, from watching too much 'Star Trek' I suppose.

I'll hold opinion on what kind of job the flight deck crew did until the toot cause(s) is/are established. Could it have been a hard landing similar to the Southwest Airlines incident?:

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/ntsb-captain-took-over-southwest-airlines-flight-just-before-landing-at-new-york-laguardia.html/

A quick recovery to the injured.

Edited September 9, 2013 by MaxYakov

[peterbkk9]

Some readers' comments are interesting.

But many of the comments are not. It just shows that their authors don't know much about aviation at all, but still feel the need to post something.

[Dibbler]

Looks like Pilot Error to me....landing too far down the runway so can't stop in time. Can't say things like that though as all the naysayers will be out accusing me of being cleverer than all the aircraft accident experts on the planet and telling me if i don't like Thailand i should go home...yada yada. As if i'm bovvered !

I just drove down to take a look. indeed the plane stopped a long way down the runway to the S end. possibly the pilot swerved to the right to avoid going off the end. the result is the same, stuck in soft soil and keeled over to one side. bizarre that they painted out the logos. if they wanted to disguise the aircraft as not being THAI they would need to have coated the entire body.