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.
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 to not 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.
The accident was the second deadliest plane crash in Thailand, behind Lauda Air Flight 004. It was the fifth worst accident involving the Airbus A310, the fourth hull loss of an Airbus A310.
Aircraft
The aircraft with registration HS-TIA was an Airbus A310-204, c/n 415, previously registered as F-WWBI for flight testing with Airbus. Given the name Phitsanulok, HS-TIA was first flown on 3 March 1986 and delivered to Thai Airways on 29 April 1986.
Passengers and crews
Flight 261 was carrying 132 passengers and 14 crew members. There were 25 foreigners on board the flight, including nationalities from Austria, Australia, Britain, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, Norway, and the United States. The rest of the passengers were Thais. Among the passengers were Siriwan, the sister of Thai Transport and Communications Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, Thai actor and singer Ruangsak Loychusak, and , a Member of Parliament from Surat Thani.
The captain, Pinit Vechasilp, had 10,167 flight hours, including 3,000 hours on the Airbus A300-600/A310.
The unnamed first officer has been reported to have 2,839 flight hours, with 983 of them on the Airbus A300-600/A310.
Accident
Flight TG261 departed from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport with 132 passengers and 14 crew members at 17:40 local time to Surat Thani, a gateway city for popular resort island of Koh Samui in Thailand. It was cleared to fly at flight level 310. The estimated flight time was one hour and 55 minutes. At the time, Thailand was hosting the 1998 Asian Games and many schools had been closed due to the event. Many Thais had headed to holiday resorts.
At 18:26 local time, the co-pilot contacted Surat Thani controller for approach. The aircraft, at the time, was located at 70 nautical miles from the airport. Surat Thani Airport cleared the flight for an approach under the Instrument Flight Rules. The weather at Surat Thani Airport was in good condition with good visibility and calm wind.
At 18:39 local time, the co-pilot contacted Surat Thani to report Flight 261's position. Surat Thani controller then stated that the Precision Approach Path Indicator on the right side of the runway 22 was not functional and the indicator on the left side was in use. Two minutes later, Flight 261 was cleared to land. The flight crews were cautioned of slippery runway due to deteriorating weather conditions.
At 18:42 local time, the runway was sighted and the pilots attempted to land the aircraft. They then decided to go-around for a second approach. The flight was cleared for its second landing attempt. This time, however, the pilots could not see the runway and opted for another go-around.
At 19:05 local time, the flight crews were informed of the weather in the area, which was acknowledged by the crew members. The weather in the area deteriorated, and the visibility was reduced from 1,500 meters to 1,000 meters. The pilots informed the passengers on the deteriorating weather conditions and announced that they would attempt another landing for the third time and stated that if they failed again they would divert the flight back to Bangkok.
During its go-around, the angle of attack of the aircraft gradually increased from 18 degrees to 48 degrees. The speed of the aircraft began to decay and the aircraft began to shake. It entered an aerodynamic stall. As it began to shake, surviving flight attendants recounted that passengers began to scream and jump out of their seats, with luggage reportedly "flying around everywhere".