Jet fighter pilot's body heading to Bangkok
PANYA THIOSANGWAN,
CHATCHAWAL KAEWKRAJAI
THE SUNDAY NATION

BANGKOK: -- THE BODY of a Royal Thai Air Force F-16 pilot - who was killed when his jet crashed in Lop Buri province on Friday - will be brought to Bangkok today, Air Force spokesman Montol Sutchukorn said yesterday.

The Air Force will also organise a guard of honour - presided over by Air Force chief ACM Tritos Sonjaeng - to receive the body of Flight Lieutenant Noppanont Niwasanont of Nakhon Ratchasima's Wing 1.

Final rites

His funeral will be held at Wat Phra Si Mahathat in Bang Khen district and evening prayers will be sponsored by the Air Force until February 28. His royally sponsored cremation will be held on Sunday March 1 at the same temple.

Noppanont will be promoted posthumously to the post of Group Captain and entitled to a special |seven-step pension, while his family will also be granted Bt2.4 million in aid money, Montol added.

Meanwhile, Air Force flight safety officers and their colleagues from Wing 1 inspected the scene of the accident yesterday to determine the cause of the crash, which was initially blamed on engine malfunction.

Noppanont was flying the jet as part of an air-to-ground attack exercise and unable to eject when the jet crashed in a field in Khok Samrong district in Lop Buri province at 2.50pm on Friday.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Jet-fighter-pilots-body-heading-to-Bangkok-30254609.html

-- The Nation 2015-02-22

This poor chap was at our wedding.

My wifes cousin is married to another fighter pilot who was his friend who were serving together.

What you are not being told is that he was instructed to fly at a very slow speed. On the ground he protested claiming he was not experienced at flying just above stall speed, but was told to do it anyway. The plane stalled and the reason he did not eject was because he he had to clear a village first and it was too late after that.

RIP mate... You are a hero, pity the truth will be covered up.

R I P

This poor chap was at our wedding.

My wifes cousin is married to another fighter pilot who was his friend who were serving together.

What you are not being told is that he was instructed to fly at a very slow speed. On the ground he protested claiming he was not experienced at flying just above stall speed, but was told to do it anyway. The plane stalled and the reason he did not eject was because he he had to clear a village first and it was too late after that.

RIP mate... You are a hero, pity the truth will be covered up.

If he's a fighter pilot, flying at any speed shouldn't be difficult, just as it isn't with an airline pilot. The aircraft is like a part of the pilot's own body, and reaction is instinctive.

Additionally, when the throttles are opened on a fighter, it responds, with a kick up the ar $ e like you've never experienced, and stall speed is left way behind.

The modern ejection seat is known as a zero zero seat, zero altitude, ie., on the ground, and zero forward speed. If ejection is initiated in an inverted attitude, the seat is turned and propelled skywards, so it would appear ejection wasn't initiated.

It's not that simple and I think there's more to this story than you're suggesting.

Edited February 22, 201511 yr by F4UCorsair

As an ex-airman myself, RIP and condolences to family and friends.

that he was instructed to fly at a very slow speed

Any particular reason for an order such as this?

I watched a pilot eject safety from around 50 feet above the ground / sea in an old Hattier jump jet at an air display so can't understand your comment of it being too late to eject after clearing the village.

Aren't most fighter planes these days flown by computers which don't allow you to stall at low speeds ?

RIP the young pilot.

For all you wise armchair pilots, sounds to me like pilot error, ex airman.

RiP to this Gentle man, I don't know every thing about planes but i am sort of a buff, My hobby. The on board computers would have over ridden the stall speed, ensuring that the plane would not drop in altitude, buzzers and bells would have been going off, we will never know the real truth. I watched as an F16 wreak was brought in where i live in the UK , it was traveling at 500 knotts inverted at 500 feet, and that pilot was lucky to bang out because he was upside down , so how do we know this plane was not inverted, are there any eye witnesses.

"Noppanont was flying the jet as part of an air-to-ground attack exercise and unable to eject when the jet crashed in a field in Khok Samrong district in Lop Buri province at 2.50pm on Friday."

I guess that was probably the last "airworthy" F16 Thailand had left. Surely not many more.......just as well by the sound of it.

RIP Young Man.

Aside from the arguments over the various aspects of his death, it is an excellent gesture to give him a posthumous promotion, provide the family with a sizable amount of cash....and an appropriate pension.

Sure, it won't bring him back but I just wonder if other countries, might learn something from the Thai Military with regards to looking after his family?

I've seen those F-16 sitting on the tarmac at U-topao a couple of times.....and wondered how often the pilots get to fly them!

Sad for the pilots family.

Having flown an F-16 myself They can stall at slow speeds unless your hundreds of hours of flying in one it isn't advisable to do so Even then it is a risk. RIP

RIP young man. Sympathy and condolences to your friends and family.

Saw this on the local (U.S. news) over the weekend...

F-16 pilot lands with half of one wing sheared off

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/20/f16-jets-collision-wing-sheared-landing/23758769/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/student-pilot-lands-f16-jet-after-midair-collision-during-mock-chase-with-instructor-10062254.html