Air Force sends plane to fight haze in Chiang Mai

[webfact]

Air Force sends plane to fight haze in Chiang Mai



CHIANG MAI: -- As hazy sky from forest fires in the North remains a concern, today the Royal Thai Air Force sent a plane to spray water to reduce the haze in Chiang Mai.

The use of aircraft to reduce hazy sky was in respond to request by the Chiang Mai governor following the continual haze that is blanketing the North.

Air Force Commander-in-Chief ACM Tritos Sonjang said he has ordered the Air Force Disaster Relief Centre to despatch a BT-67 plane from the 46th Wing based in Phitsanulok to fly to the 41st Wing in Chiang Mai to support local authorities to fight the haze yesterday.

The plane began operation today in areas around Chiang Mai town.

The plane will fly four missions a day with each mission carrying 3,000 litres of water to spray.

The mission begins today until March 31 and is expected to reduce the hazy atmosphere in Chiang Mai and adjacent areas.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/air-force-sends-plane-to-fight-haze-in-chiang-mai


-- Thai PBS 2015-03-06

[khwaibah]

Spitting in the wind come to mind.

[cmsally]

Wow, like one whole plane?

[HeijoshinCool]

Wow, like 3000 whole litres?

[iainiain101]

Will 3000 litres be enough to combat the exhaust fumes from the plane?

[Tywais]

They should get firefighting helicopters equipped with infrared and go direct to the source.

[PatOngo]

Another brilliant idea, it's little wonder they lead the world in............well..........everything!

[rabid old goat]

Wow, like one whole plane?

i think it was this BT-67 plane

Edited March 6, 2015 by rabid old goat

[MESmith]

Had a couple of their small fighter jets over our house a few minutes ago. Can't say I've noticed any improvement. Mind you, I didn't hear any cannon fire.....

[MESmith]

I've heard of "shoot the breeze", now it's "shoot the haze"

[clockman]

Because of the feudal patronage system here. The problem will never solved. Powerful interests control eveything!

[LuckyLew]

How about sending firetrucks?

How about getting farmers to stop slash and burn?

What a waste of resources

Let them suffer .. self induced

[CNXBKKMAN]

BT67 - a DC3 with modern turbo prop engines fitted. Not many air forces in the world still operate the DC3. The one flying around CM must be at 65 plus years old. A great sight for aviation buffs.

[Bung]

I see that old dc3 cruise into cm nearly every day

[rijit]

whats the air quality reading in chang mai atm ?

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[rijit]

dont know if many have expirenced the smog in chang mai ? I have. 2 give u an idea of what its like i had a nice mountain veiw from my apartmnent ,, boom gone virtually over night. a day out and about on a moter cycle wearing light coloured clothes and when u got back they were grey and ure face was really dirty and if u were unlucky u could get a nasty cough

really unpleaseant.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[inzman]

They might try to blow the smoke away with the propellers.

[Sparkles]

They should get firefighting helicopters equipped with infrared and go direct to the source.

Please lets not get common sense into it

[circusman]

Because of the feudal patronage system here. The problem will never solved. Powerful interests control eveything!

If these are real forest fires then your feudal patronage theory would not apply. Am I correct?

[roo860]

There's plenty of Fokkers about!!!!!!

[blueyeshk]

There are no real forest or wild fires it's all men made and nothing is easier than to handle men if you want and that's the sole reason why they will fail year after year

Edited March 6, 2015 by blueyeshk

[roo860]

There are no real forest or wild fires it's all men made and nothing is easier than to handle men if you want and that's the sole reason why they will fail year after year

?

[roo860]

There are no real forest or wild fires it's all men made and nothing is easier than to handle men if you want and that's the sole reason why they will fail year after year

?

I should be careful if I was you, 'handling men'!

[Borzandy]

They might try to blow the smoke away with the propellers.

Yes, sure, they are using propeller planes

[Balance]

This has got to be a joke, right? But then again, it reminds me of major of Bangkok lining up long tail's to push water through the city faster during the flooding there a few years ago.

[bluebluewater]

Yes indeed. I remember the stupidest Minister I've ever seen in Thailand - 'ol Plodprasop himself - who said just a couple of years ago for the same reoccurring event, the haze in the highlands, that they were going to have several planes in the air doing slow circles to create a "chimney" to let all the smoke out!

Push boats for the floods, planes in the air, it mattered not. This feller had the answers for all disasters.

[doublephil]

The news in the OP is not exactly how it was presented on Thai language TV news. According to my wife, the TV news report said that there are a number of wild fires burning in the Mae Hia district of Chiang Mai and in the adjacent Doi Suthep National Park. That is causing much increased smoke smog in Chiang Mai city today. The plane is being sent on a fire-fighting mission to try to contain the fires and prevent them from spreading further because the fires are in fairly remote areas which are inaccessible to conventional fire fighting vehicles. The authorities know it is only 1 plane - and can't do very much - but at least it's slightly better than doing nothing at all - and they want to show that they are actually trying to do something.

[maidee]

wow, 4x 3000 liter of water

and how much fuel they used for that brilliant idea ...

works as well as the 1000 boat propellers against the flood a few years ago

[OOLEEBER]

How about sending firetrucks?

How about getting farmers to stop slash and burn?

What a waste of resources

Let them suffer .. self induced

It's not just the farmers suffering. I brought a pretty expensive Telescope and kit for astronomy here. Most evenings I'm on the balcony saying to myself. "For WHAT.... for WHAT......"

More fool me.

[bangon04]

The news in the OP is not exactly how it was presented on Thai language TV news. According to my wife, the TV news report said that there are a number of wild fires burning in the Mae Hia district of Chiang Mai and in the adjacent Doi Suthep National Park. That is causing much increased smoke smog in Chiang Mai city today. The plane is being sent on a fire-fighting mission to try to contain the fires and prevent them from spreading further because the fires are in fairly remote areas which are inaccessible to conventional fire fighting vehicles. The authorities know it is only 1 plane - and can't do very much - but at least it's slightly better than doing nothing at all - and they want to show that they are actually trying to do something.

well that doesn't really show them in a much better light - for a country which buys a token aircraft carrier to use as a royal yacht, why do they only have one 65 year old plane to use as a firefighter?

"Air Force Commander-in-Chief ACM Tritos Sonjang said he has ordered the Air Force Disaster Relief Centre to despatch a BT-67 plane from the 46th Wing based in Phitsanulok to fly to the 41st Wing in Chiang Mai to support local authorities to fight the haze yesterday."

I am sure this Air chief marshall has lots of shiny medals on his jacket for fighting fires and saving the country, but what exactly does the "Air Force Disaster Relief Centre" do for the rest of its time??

Edited March 6, 2015 by bangon04