Phuket’s One-Two-Go air crash a disaster “not to be remembered’: airport officials

PHUKET: There was no official memorial service today, September 16, to remember the 89 people who died in the crash landing of One-Two-Go Flight OG269 at Phuket International Airport seven years ago.

“We do not want to perpetuate horrible memories of the incident. It was a tragedy and not a day to remember,” Phuket Airport Director Prathuang Sornkham told the Phuket Gazette.

Mr Prathuang explained that airport officials make sure that the facilities at Phuket’s critical tourism portal meet international standards and that some safety procedures have been improved since the horrific crash in 2007.

“Our facility meets the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO] and every year we are inspected by the Department of Civil Aviation to make sure our safety procedures meet international standards,” he said.

“Since the incident, our air traffic controllers are in more frequent contact with pilots of approaching aircraft and we have improved our system of landing lights and other navigational aids.”

Of the 130 passengers and crew aboard One-Two-Go flight OG269 that slammed into the runway before breaking apart and bursting into flames at about 3:45pm seven years ago today, only 42 survived.

Of the survivors, 15 were Thai nationals (story here).

More than three years after the crash, the British coroner cited the “flagrant disregard for passenger safety” by the airline.

“The primary failure so far as I am concerned relates to the corporate culture which prevailed both at One-Two-GO Airlines and Orient Thai Airlines prior to and following the air crash,” noted Her Majesty’s Coroner SPG Fisher in his report (click here).

— Chutharat Plerin