HS-TIA, the aircraft involved, photographed at Don Mueang International Airport in June 1997
Accident
Date
11 December 1998 (1998-12-11)
Summary
Stalled during approach due to pilot error and spatial disorientation
Site
0.7 km S of Surat Thani International Airport (URT) (Thailand) 09°7′42″N99°8′17″E / 9.12833°N 99.13806°E / 9.12833; 99.13806
Aircraft
Aircraft type
Airbus A310-204
Aircraft name
Phitsanulok
Operator
Thai Airways International
IATA flight No.
TG261
ICAO flight No.
THA261
Call sign
THAI 261
Registration
HS-TIA
Flight origin
Don Mueang International Airport
Destination
Surat Thani International Airport
Occupants
146
Passengers
132
Crew
14
Fatalities
101
Injuries
45
Survivors
45
Thai Airways International Flight 261 (TG261/THA261) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport to Surat Thani International Airport in Surat Thani, Thailand. The flight was operated by Thai Airways International, the flag carrier of Thailand. On 11 December 1998, the aircraft, an Airbus A310-204 registered in Thailand as HS-TIA, stalled and crashed into a swamp during its landing attempt at Surat Thani Airport. A total of 101 people were killed in the crash.[1]
Thailand's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee (AAIC) opened an investigation into the accident. The investigation revealed that the crew were disoriented. As their attempts to land at the airport had failed multiple times, the crew became upset, causing them not to maintain awareness of the condition of their aircraft until it started to enter an upset condition. The pilots failed to recover the aircraft and the aircraft crashed into the swamp.[1]
The accident was the second deadliest plane crash in Thailand,[2] behind Lauda Air Flight 004.[3] It was the fifth worst accident involving the Airbus A310, the fourth hull loss of an Airbus A310.[4]
^ abCite error: The named reference ASN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Ranter, Harro. "Thailand air safety profile". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
^Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 767-3Z9ER OE-LAV Phu Toey". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
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