Pilots Failed to Control Trim, Thai Jet Crash Inquiry Finds by Phairath Khampha 30 August 2000 Human error was blamed for the crash of Thai Airways International's Airbus A310-200 that killed 101 people in Surat Thani on December 11, 1998, a source in the Transport and Communications Ministry said on August 21, 2000. The source was quoting initial findings of an inquiry team headed by ACM Therdsak Sajjarak, the air force chief-of-staff. "The pilots did not see the runway when the plane was approaching the airport because of bad weather. They saw the runway only when the plane was very close to the airport. Then they descended suddenly but the plane was heading for the control tower. So they abruptly turned the plane which consequently lost its balance and crashed," the source said. "However, the probe team had yet to consider whether the pilots' decisions resulted from their communication with the control tower, and whether the aeroplane was having any problems while the pilots tried to save the flight." Another source said the initial conclusion was based on the findings of a neutral aviation organisation in France. A check of the ill-fated aircraft's cockpit voice recorder revealed its pilots were shouting "trim, trim" just before the crash. In June, the Thai probe team had asked French experts to help find out whether the pilots or the aeroplane's engine had caused the trim system to develop a problem. French aviation technicians who went to Bangkok in the middle of August attributed the trim problem to the pilots, saying it was unlikely the Airbus had developed any engine trouble judging from the fact the pilots had made two landing attempts before the third fatal one. "It might be human error as the pilots might not have applied the trim system properly. Normally, the trim system is set on the automatic mode for a landing. After two landing attempts had not been successful, the pilots might have turned to the manual mode but failed to apply it properly," the source quoted the French findings. "It is still uncertain if they will reach the final conclusion on the cause of the crash in the next meeting. However, Thai Airways does not seem to have any good reason left to argue against the French finding," the source said. Sawat Sitthiwong, chief of the Aviation Department, confirmed on August 21 the probe team had made an initial conclusion on the cause of the crash. Mr Sawat and other officials concerned met at the Transport Ministry that same day to discuss master plans and action plans on air safety in Thailand. Apichart Pensupha, an air transport expert, said the plans would be implemented over the following five years. About 2.9 billion baht would be needed to have effective safety and rescue measures in place, he added. The measures included a 200-million-baht fee to join a satellite-based system for search and rescue operations, a 750-million-baht plan to procure three rescue helicopters, a 500-million-baht plan to improve navigation facilities, and a 100-million-baht plan to procure a hydrofoil or a hovercraft.