The captain of a Nok Surroundings aircraft that slid off the runway at Chiang Rai airport terminal will be summoned by regulators to explain precisely why passengers were maintained board for about one hour after the accident.
Suttipong Kongpool, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), said yesterday that the key pilot of air travel DD108 will be ordered to defend the decision.
“The explanation behind the decision is exactly what the CAAT must hear from the captain, ” Mr Suttipong told the Inside Asia news programme.
The Don Mueang-Chiang Rai flight with 164 passengers plus six crew aboard slid off the catwalk and its undercarriage flattened as it landed within heavy rain at Mae Fah Luang in the northern province on Saturday night. There were no injuries.
The captain turned off the particular engines of the 737-800 Boeing aircraft following the accident, leaving the particular passenger cabin within darkness and without air conditioner. The passengers were then told to stay on board until busses arranged by the flight arrived to take these to the terminal. Right after about an hour fewer than 20 passengers had still left by van. The rest of the passengers started going on about the stuffy circumstances in the cabin, the lack of fresh air causing difficulty in breathing and the possible hazards of staying in their seats in the dark. In the video taken by the passenger in the cabin, a woman crew associate was heard looking to calm down angry passengers and telling them to remain seated. “Passengers are not allowed upon runways, ” she said.
The passengers was adamant on leaving the airplane and the captain eventually permitted one of the eight emergency exit doors to be opened so that they could disembark on a slide. Under international aviation protocols, most passengers must be evacuated from an plane within 90 mere seconds of a serious incident, according to the CAAT chief. But evacuation guidelines are also flexible, according to the circumstances and protection of the passengers plus aircraft, he mentioned.
“The captain is the one who makes the decision on evacuation after assessing the situation, including exterior factors, ” Mr Suttipong said.
The CAAT chief also stated passengers were permitted to stand on runways in case of emergency, even though were off limitations in normal situations.