Does Anyone Important Fly on Orient Thai?
On September 16, 2007, Orient Thai’s One-Two-Go OG269 crashed on landing in Phuket, killing 90 people – 45 Thais and 45 foreigners. The cause of the crash was flight crew error caused by foreseeable and systemic failures at Orient Thai/One-Two-Go Airlines and the Thai Department of Civil Aviation.
In July, ten months after the crash, after the website www.InvestigateUdom.com posted proof of illegally excessive pilot working hours and fraudulent pilot re-currency training, after the US FAA told the department of civil aviation they were “seriously deficientâ€, the Thai Department of Civil Aviation took action to protect the traveling public by temporarily grounding One-Two-Go’s fleet of aircraft.
For three months, Thai Department of Civil Aviation agents traveled with Orient Thai/One-Two-Go pilots to Madrid, Spain to “supervise” the pilots in the flight simulators. (Note: Trips to Madrid for DCA agents are highly unusual.) Now, the Thai Department of Civil Aviation claims Orient Thai Airlines and One-Two-Go Airlines are safe enough to fly you and me, our children, our parents, our loved ones.
Udom Tantiprasongchai is the owner and CEO of Orient Thai/One-Two-Go Airlines. He knew the airline flew illegally. Before the crash, Udom knew the pilots of OG269 were exhausted and improperly trained. He remains in his job. Cho Ting Tsang is the COO of Orient Thai/One-Two-Go Airlines. Before the crash, Cho knew the pilots of OG269 were exhausted and improperly trained. Cho ordered falsification of the pilots flight hours and aircraft log books in an attempt to cover up the pilots’ work hours. Cho remains in his job.
Does anyone beloved by the Thai Department of Civil Aviation fly Orient Thai or One-Two-Go Airlines? Will you bet your life on it?
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