>BY: Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent In Bangkok
THE Thai authorities yesterday grounded budget carrier One-Two-Go and its parent Orient-Thai Airlines for 30 days because of poor safety standards.
Mr Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of Thailand's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), said the decision was based on investigations by his department and the United States National Transport Safety Board.
They concluded that pilot error caused the crash of a One-Two-Go plane in Phuket on Sept 16 last year that killed 89 people and left 41 badly injured.
Mr Chaisak added that the DCA would file criminal suits against the company in two weeks.
The captain, Indonesian Arief Mulyadi, 56, and his Thai co-pilot were killed on impact when the plane, loaded mostly with foreign tourists, skidded off the runway in heavy rain and winds, crashed and burst into flames.
Based on the conversation in the cockpit extracted from the flight data recorder, there was little communication between the captain and the co-pilot who was flying the plane during the tricky landing.
One-Two-Go had last week suspended operations for two months - but on the grounds of rising operating costs.
The airline operates 16 aircraft and more than 200 domestic flights a week, carrying more than 100,000 passengers a month.
Last week, lawyers for British and American families of the crash victims filed suit against
One-Two-Go in US courts seeking 125 million pounds (S$338.8 million) in compensation. One-Two-Go founder Udom Tantiprasongchai, who has been under pressure since the crash, has denied allegations that pilots worked
excessive hours and that aircraft were poorly maintained.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on July 23, 2008.
