Yesterday an MD-82 aircraft operated by Thai carrier One-Two-Go crashed on landing at Phuket, Thailand. The accident happened at about 4 PM local time when the aircraft ran off the departure end of the runway during heavy rain and strong winds. The aircraft reportedly split in two on impact and caught fire. One-Two-Go Flight OG269 was arriving from Bangkok with 123 passengers and five crew on board. As of this writing, 90 have died and many are hospitalized with injuries.The flight's Indonesian captain and Thai first officer are reported to have been among those who perished in the crash. The Bangkok Post identified the captain as Areef Mulyadi, 56, who was said to have been a pilot with two Indonesian airlines – Sempati and Star Airlines - before going to work for One-Two-Go two years ago.
A list of the names and nationalities of the survivors of Flight OG269 has been posted on the One-Two-Go website, along with a list of telephone numbers that can be used to inquire about passengers who may have been on the aircraft. The airline also has posted a full list of the names on the passenger manifest of Flight OG269.
News reports said today that the aircraft's flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder had been recovered from the wreckage. The Associated Press quoted Thai Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen who said that the devices would be sent to the United States for analysis.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced that a team composed of NTSB and FAA investigators, as well as representatives of Boeing, and Pratt & Whitney, will assist Thai authorities with the accident investigation.
One-Two-Go Airlines began operations in December 2003 and is the domestic subsidiary of Orient-Thai Airlines, a regional charter carrier based in Thailand. The Associated Press reported that the plane that crashed in Phuket was manufactured and put into use in 1983, and began flying in Thailand in March this year.
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