Press Information: Since the Crash of One-Two-Go Flight OG 269

The remains of the airplane as of March, 2008. The seats, known to have detatched in flight and killed passengers, are said to be on sale in Phuket.

A Synopsis: Orient Thai/One-Two-Go OG269 crashed and burned on landing in Phuket, Thailand in the late afternoon of September 16, 2007, killing 90 people, including citizens of Australia, Iran, Israel, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The pilots chose to land in extremely bad weather.

Immediately after the crash, an Orient Thai pilot posted testimony of very dangerous and very illegal actions by Orient Thai and its wholly owned subsidiary One-Two-Go, directed by the airline's owner Udom Tantiprasongchai.

The information below reflects the efforts by the families of the victims to honor our loved ones, in part by assuring accountability for the crash and safety for future travelers. So far, despite egregious proof of falsified flight rosters, fraudulent checkrides and maintenance malpractice (before and after the crash), Orient Thai/One-Two-Go continues to fly in Asia, Africa and Europe with the blessing of the Thai Civil Aviation Authority, the DCA. - Bonnie Rind June 13, 2008

Due to public pressure - in part from this petition site - One-Two-Go has been grounded for a brief time. Orient Thai continues to fly. There has been no accountability yet. - Bonnie Rind July 22, 2008

Doing Our Best to Honor the Deceased
and Protect Future Travelers:

Watch for the symbol. Updated July 22, 2008

By September 30, 2007 Most or all of the bodies of 45 foreign victims have been returned to the families
By October 31, 2007 The families of the French victims agree to act in a single voice. They organize themselves as "Association de defense des familles des victimes de la catastrophe aerienne de Phuket" or the Association of French Victim's Families
November 25, 2007 Friends of victims Alex Collins and Bethan Jones, students from Cardiff University, hold a memorial concert. All funds collected benefited a local burn unit and a charity supporting victims of head trauma.
February 15, 2008 The Association of French Victim's Families formally requests the European Commision blacklist Orient Thai Airlines.
February 19, 2008 A US victim's sister launches an on-line petition asking the Thai Prime Minister to ensure an independent and transparent investigation of the crashing, including into the alleged illegal actions by Orient Thai and One-Two-Go chairman Udom Tantiprasongchai. The petition is also available in French.
February 24, 2008 "A Walk for Al" in memory of Alex Collins of Maesteg, Wales attracts 300-400 participants. Proceeds from the walk were donated to Father Ferdinand in Phuket, Thailand for his work with orphans of the Tsunami and to a local burn unit and a charity supporting victims of head trauma.
February 26, 2008 The on-line petition for a full investiagtion of the crash becomes available in German.
February 26, 2008 The Association of French Victim's Families send this letter to the EC Commisaire in charge of Transport.
March 11, 2008 Only 3 weeks old, the petition gets its 500th signature.
March 9, 2008 Margaret and Richard Collins travel to Phuket, Thailand to distribute the money collected in Alex Collin's name for Father Ferdinand's Tsunami orphans.
March 18, 2008 The on-line petition for a full investiagtion of the crash becomes available in Hebrew, Farsi, and Thai, enabling people from every country affected by the crash to read and sign the petition.
April 4, 2008 Investigate Udom petition reaches 1,400 signatures. Citizens of the Australia, United States, United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Ghana, Israel, Canada, Germany, Austria, Indonesia, and Italy have signed.
April 4, 2008 We officially communicate our petition to Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej with the following letter: in Thai and in English.
April 2008 Thailand begins to censor information about the peition. We are banned from the Thai Visa forum (and our comments deleted) for these posts promoting the petition in Thailand. (We were polite and broke no forum rules.)
April 25, 2008 Only 2 months old, the petition gets its 4,000th signature.
May 6, 2008 The petition site adds a "Press Information" link including physical proof of dangerous and illegal actions by Orient Thai/ One-Two-Go Airlines.
May 22, 2008 We demand a satifactory explanation from the DCA with this letter.
May 27, 2008 The FAA is conducting an IASA (that stands for International Aviation Safety Assessment) review of Thailand. We strongly encouraged the FAA to decatagorize Thailand, and we sent them our proof. Here's our letter to the head of the FAA.
June 12, 2008 The FAA is returning to Thailand to discuss its category one International Aviation Safety Assessement (IASA) rating. They assure us they will be returning to Thailand "in the near future" in this letter.
June 20, 2008 Clearly stating the deficiencies in Thailand, we ask the NTSB to take special interest in the crash investigation.
Specifcally, we ask the NTSB to:
1. Investigate this crash as if it had occurred on US soil as much as possible, including but not limited to conducting a “Survival Factors Assessment”.
2. Update the NTSB’s finding of cause from “flight crew error” to take into account the inept (at best) oversight by the Thai DCA coupled with the airline’s systemic wonton and willful disregard for passenger safety and the law.
  (There is historic precedent for such findings, such as Helios Airways Flight HCY522 and Air Ontario Flight 1363.)
3. Make their final report public in a timely fashion with or without the cooperation of the Thai DCA.
July 13, 2008 National Indemnity Company, controlled by Warren Buffett, is one of the major insurers of Orient Thai /One-Two-Go /Kampuchia /Grandmax Ltd. With this letter, we ask Mr. Buffett to "direct the National Indemnity Company to cease providing aviation insurance to airlines based in Thailand, including but not limited to Orient Thai Airlines in its many incarnations".
July 14, 2008 A behind the scenes battle is being waged. Look at this article from the Bangkok Post. Compare the honest statements from a "transport ministry source" such as the cause was pilot error and had nothing to do with the aircraft and little to do with windsheer to the obfuscating statements from Mr. Vuthichai such as problems with the weather and the aircraft could not be ruled out.
July 22, 2008 Updates from Thailand make it clear deals are being made as the duration of the AOC revocation and affected parties changes by the hour. All we know for sure is that One-Two-Go is currently grounded and Orient Thai continues to fly.
Here is the list of questions we think the press should be asking.

Ten Questions for the DCA
10. Why is Orient Thai Airlines allowed to continue operations?
There is no operational or management differences between Orient Thai Airlines and One-Two-Go Airlines. Orient Thai Airlines is the operator of all aircraft and they simply “wet lease” the aircraft to One Two Go.

9.When will senior management be suspended and charged similarly as the pilots for their role in the fraudulent check rides?

8.Where are the charges for exceeding legal flight time limitations?
Here are the September and December rosters showing scheduling and actual flight time. Both show excessive flight hours.

7.When will the management of Orient Thai Airlines be charged for providing fraudulent flight rosters to crash investigators?
DCA admission of fraudulent roster sheets can be seen on the Australian MSN 9 exposé.

6.Why is the DCA only charging Orient Thai/One-Two-Go with items publicly presented on this website?
Numerous documented allegations have not been revealed. For example, we know most of Orient Thai’s foreign pilots’ work permits have expired. A valid work permit is a requirement for Thai foreign pilot validation. We know the DCA implicitly approves of this practice.

5.Why did the DCA fail to be proactive in its role in providing oversight to Thai aviation?
Non-public evidence includes warning letters written to the DCA prior to the crash. Evidence – including the crash of OG269 – indicates failure on the part of the DCA to address the identified deficiencies.

4.Why has the DCA changed its claim that the crash was “unknown” and “beyond control” as stated in February, when they’ve had the black box information since shortly after the crash?
After the crash of OG269, this supposedly competent and responsible civil aviation body continually suggested "windsheer" as a valid cause of the crash when early evidence clearly indicated otherwise.

3.Why does the length of the suspension for One-Two-Go and the fact of suspension for Orient-Thai keep changing?

2.Where is the true accountability for the 90 deaths?

1.If there will be no accountability from senior people at Orient Thai/One-Two-Go, what keeps people safe on Thai-based airlines?
Aug 19, 2008 InvestigateUdom.com launches a video and image site, http://investigateudom.smugmug.com/ for sharing crash related video and images.
If guts and gore is your thing, you won't find it here. The InvestigateUdom.com image site is for sharing important and poignant images relating to the crash. For example, we show a photo of a set of Orient Thai planes NOT Flying. (A very good thing.) We also show the wreckage left with little protection for the elements and looters. Video snippets from the Australian program are there, as are video of an exhausted and overworked Orient Thai flight crew. Expect more images in the near future ....

Proof Vs. Orient Thai and DCA Obfuscation:

Watch for the proof symbol. Updated August 5, 2008

August 7, 2006: A Pilot Tries to Prevent Catastrophe
Clement Campeau, a captain on Orient Thai's 757 fleet, wrote this letter to Chief Pilot and Safety Officer, John McDermott. [Note this is 1 year before the crash of OG 269.] Mr. Campeau pressures Mr. McDermott to:
convey to [Orient Thai Management] that all the ingredients are present for a serious incident with possible loss of life.
Apparently Mr. McDermott did not comply or succeed in communicating the information. One week later, Mr. Campeau walked away from his job with Orient Thai when he deemed an airplane too dangerous to fly with passengers from Bangkok to Hong Kong via Phuket. Mr. Campeau says Mr. McDermott piloted the aircraft instead.
Mr. McDermott is currently chief pilot for Skystar Airways of Bangkok,Thailand. Anyone interested in a flight on Skystar?
September 18, 2007: Orient Thai Pilot Postings Claim Incredibly Dangerous and Illegal Actions by the Airline
Internet forums carry this anonymous letter from an Orient Thai/One-Two-Go pilot alleging - in detail - known pilot incompetance and illegal actions by Orient Thai/One-Two-Go management.
More detailed pilot postings are made a short time later on this and other forums, such as this one: written by an Orient Thai/One-Two-Go pilot detailing the abuses and dangerous actions by Orient Thai management. Here's a few snippets:
...it was totally unnecessary but was destined to happen.
Work schedules of 9 straight days and sometimes more.
[OG269 Captain Arief] had failed his medical recently and was grounded for two months. He must have suffered from low blood sugar because all my First Officers would complain or laugh that he would always fall asleep in the afternoon flights.... The crash occurred at 3:40 p.m.
The flight controls had to be taken from [Arief] on at least two occasions. One highly documented case occurred with the prime minister of Afghanistan on board.
October 12, 2007: The DCA Tries to Blame Windsheer!
According to the DCA, the Black box shows the crash was "partly caused" by windshear, rather than poor pilot training and a lack of competance.
To see what the black box truely showed, see this transcript of the blackbox and a synopsis of the findings.
November 18, 2007: A TV Expose Puts the Pilots on Camera
Details of dangerous and illegal actions by Orient Thai are stated in this TV program by Channel 9 MSN in Australia. This program shows Chairman Udom Tantiprasongchai deny the charges and has footage of the Thai DCA acknowledging receipt of falsified flight rosters from Orient Thai. (*Beware this video begins with an ad.)
See the nervous reporter fly on Udom's airplane.
February 9, 2008: The DCA Tries to Blame the NTSB!
Thai Aviation Authorities (the DCA) claim the NTSB can't determine the cause of the crash. They go on to say that "No punishment will be imposed on any agency or personnel after completion of the investigation because the accident was beyond control."
The cause is unknown, but unavoidable?
February 28, 2008: The Petition is Signed by Orient Thai Pilots
Former Orient Thai pilots begin signing the petition and offering documentation to support the allegations.
See signatures #238, #265, #1327, #1402, #4664 identified by this graphic.
March 19, 2008: The DCA Fails to Complete Major Investigations
Investigations into the previous two Major Airline incidents to take place in Thailand, the explosion of a Thai Airways International 737 at the gate in Bangkok in 2001 and the crash of Thai Airways International on landing in Surat Thani, killing a cumulative 106 people have never completed. The DCA seems unable to assess the complexity of airtravel or ensure accountability and safety.
April 4, 2008: Statements from a Former Orient Thai Pilot
We received an email from a former Orient Thai pilot who speaks of his experiences flying with Orient Thai. Below are some excerpts. Click here for the whole email.
In my time with OX I experienced 5 engine failures...two of those were engine fires...all with passengers on board and a long way from Bangkok. Friends of mine have served 25 years with a major western airline and never had one[!]
[T]he accident of OG269 was going to happen...maybe not that aircraft on that day, but one of their aircraft somewhere in the world. As I said in my post, as far as I have been concerned, it was always a matter when, not if. The Management and Udom are directly responsible.
As long as Udom keeps his connections and “pays his bills”, the problems will go unseen and unrectified...those of us who have spent time in Thailand know this to be the case.
April 26, 2008: Near Mid-Air Collision by Orient Thai/ One-Two-Go
Orient Thai receives a mild rebuke from the DCA for unsafe flight 5 months after a near mid-air collision and 7 months after the crash of OG 269.
Still no comment from the DCA regarding crashing a commercial aircaft and falsifying paperwork.
May 1, 2008: The *Actual* Duy Rosters for September, 2007 Detail Illegal Flight
We receive the flight duty logs for August and for September from Orient Thai/One-Two-Go proving the pilots had worked (and planned to continue working) an illegal number of hours.
Watch the Australian program to see DCA director Vuttichai admitting he'd received false documents from Orient Thai.
May 1, 2008: Proof of Dangerous and Illegal Flight Over Water
Here is a single maintenance record from a set of maintenance records collected as evidence of unsafe and illegal practices by Orient Thai/One-Two-Go.
[ETOPS] stands for "Extended Twin engined aircraft Operations" International law requires that twin engined commercial overwater flights be within 60 minutes of a suitable airport at all times. [ETOPS] rules allow twins to go beyond 60 minutes. But the ETOPS provisions detail very precise conditions that include, among many:
1. The aircraft's systems are especially designed or modified
2. Maintenance is tailored to ETOPS rules
3. The operator must be approved by the regulatory authority.
The above conditions are just a few of the requirements.
OX never complied and was not approved for ETOPS rules.
See this deeper description of the maintenance record including the description of the potentially catastrophic failure of the aircaft.
June 4, 2008: Proof of Fraudulent Check Rides by Orient Thai/ One-Two-Go
These pilots Natsir, Purwanic, Hendrarto, and Haryanto passed their check rides in Decembr 2007. What's the problem? Look closely. Notice the difference in handwriting and penmanship between the comments and the approval signature. The Captain who observed and approved their skills, Latief, had taken the month of December off from work. Here's Latief's request for leave, and here's the flight roster (used for payroll) from the month of December. (The black dots indicate days he supposedly administered the checkrides.)
If you examine the roster, you'll see at least 1 pilot exceeded legal maximums by flying routes Dec 24 through Dec 31. (Was he flying on Jan 1 too?)
June 4, 2008: Isn't Oversight The DCA's Job?
Some time ago, the Thai DCA was notified of the fraudulent checkrides with this letter and copies of the above documents. The DCA took no action.
June 12, 2008: The Last Momements of OG269 - The Blackbox
Confirmed Information from the "black box" and a synopsis of the events.
Cause of Crash: "Flight Crew Error"
Worst Mistake: For 15 seconds, both pilots failed to observe the idle thrust setting during the attempted go around
- Failure of the company to comply and adhere to regulatory standards
June 13, 2008: Clear Proof of Maintenance Fraud
Pages from an Orient Thai aircaft's logbook proving that repairs are few and far between. Rather, the maintenance crew write the issue off as repaired, knowing it will get another 10 days on the DDPG. Logbook: page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6, page 7, page 8, page 9, page 10, page 11
June 15, 2008: Rescue Was Vastly Beneath ICAO Standards
A paramedic on the scene reports on the rescue. He says water and foam hadn't been restocked since the rescue simulation 3 days before in Phuket. He says the crash was called in as an airplane that "slid" off the runway - so no one hurried. Additionally, since the onsite fire station was vastly understaffed, rescue crews had to come from town - a drive that takes at least 20 minutes.
June 18, 2008: Who Owns the Aircraft?
Who is GrandMax Group Ltd? This history of the aircraft shows it was leased by One-Two-Go and owned by GrandMax Group Ltd. GrandMax Group Ltd is a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company. BVI is one of those places you incorporate when you want complete anonymity and avoidance of taxes. Unfortunately, anonymity requires no one knows you, which runs counter to the execution of business.
Ms. Wang Chung Wei is a director of GrandMax Group Ltd. Ms. Wei is also known as Ms. Nina Tantiprasongchai, Udom's wife.
It looks like the hull insurance on the aircraft will actually provide a profit to the Tantiprasongchais vastly in excess of the amount they are offering the families of the victims.
June 23, 2008: The Runway Appears to be Illegal
Every available image shows the width runway strip at Phuket International Airport is significantly below the legal requirement for an airport of its class. According to ICAO:
A runway must be contained within a runway strip that is flat, firm and free of non-frangible obstructions. The runway strips must extend a minimum of 150m either side of the runway centreline and at least 60m beyond the end of the runway end (including any stopway).
This image of runway 9/27 shows the location of the accident and at least 100 feet (30m) of illegal embankment.
July 18, 2008: SHUT DOWN!...
Udom attempts to blame the fuel prices for the shutdown when, in fact, the One-Two-Go MD-80 fleet had their Airline Operating Certificate (AOC) revoked for a month or two (if that). Even the Thai reporter doesn't believe Udom's explanation.
We're not done yet. As One-Two-Go and Orient Thai have no operational or management, the traveling public is still not safe.
July 21, 2008: Oops, It Wasn't Really About Fuel $$
The new Director General of the DCA contradicts Udom and confirms the One-Two-Go shutdown for 56 days is due to pilot error causing the crash and "checks by the pilots" (that'd be fraudulent check rides, see June 4 above) were not being carried out properly.
Again, Why is Orient Thai continuing to fly?
July 25, 2008: OT's Director Kajit Has Close DCA Ties
Orient Thai/One-Two-Go's managing director Kajit Habanananda is a former advior to deputy minister of transport and former Director General of The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau. He's also a past president of the Lion's club.
How many degrees of separation between Khun Kajit and new DCA Deputy Director Chaisak Angkasuwan?
July 31, 2008: Fraudulent Flight Schedule Summaries
These are the fraudulent flight schedule summaries given by Orient Thai management to the DCA and presumably to the NTSB, intended to show that the pilots were within legal duty limits. Compare this flight schedule with these actual schedule rosters for August and September.
2 commerical pilots chose to land in violent weather despite timely warning from a fellow pilot. 90 people horribly killed. Shouldn't the DCA be looking into the pilots' actual flight time, taking into account real life flight delays, unscheduled ferry flights, maintenance flights, repositioning flights and so on?
Aug 5, 2008: DCA Acknowleges Truth (But Only in Thai)
On July 23, 2008, the DCA wrote "Matters of the Facts regarding Suspension of Air Perator Certificate of Orient Thai Airlines Co,. Ltd and One Two Go Airline Co,. Ltd". They published the document in Thai only. We have a translation to English.
1. DCA inspectors notified Orient Thai management of the excessive working hours of the pilots after the accident of OG269
2. Orient Thai management acknowledged the truth of excessive hours at that time and continued to fly hours in excess of legal maximums.
3. "OT [Orient Thai] had no Quality Assurance for self-inspection"
4. "Flight operation officers did not obtain fundamental training and procedures in case of emergency"
5. "Flight operations officers of OTG [One-Two-Go] had to work with those of OT [Orient Thai], meaning their duties were inseparable"
So, while hiding the information to the public, the DCA admits excessive pilot hours were known shortly after the crash of OG269. Yet the DCA has allowed - and continues to allow - Orient Thai to fly.
Does this sounds like category 1 Oversight?
Aug 19, 2008: Exhausted OT Flight Crew on Video
We have obtained a video of an Orient Thai charter flight for the UN peacekeepers. The flight crew spend over 24 hours on the aircraft. The UN peacekeepers are forced to deplane unexpectedly. Here is a description of the video. See the InvestigateUdom Photo and Image Gallery "United Nations Charter Flight" for the actual video.

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This campaign brought to you in memory of the passengers of Flight OG 269.
Please direct inquires to Bonnie at InvestigateUdom.com.