Thai Airliner Dodging 2nd Jet Crashes in Sea; 83 Die : American Couple on Board

A Thai domestic airliner making a landing approach with 83 people aboard today nose-dived into a bay off the southern resort island of Phuket after dodging another jetliner. All those aboard were believed killed, officials said.

Marine police in Phuket, 430 miles south of Bangkok, said there are no known survivors from the Thai Airways Boeing 737, which crashed about 3:40 p.m. Among those aboard were two Americans who boarded the plane at the last minute.

By night, rescuers had recovered 12 bodies and other remains. Officials said that boats with searchlights continued rescue operations but that there is virtually no chance of survivors’ being found in what would be Thailand’s worst air accident.

Air Marshal Narong Tidhjipheng, manager of Thai Airways, told reporters in Bangkok that the Thai jet swerved to avoid another Boeing 737 from the Hong Kong-based Dragonair airlines that was landing at Phuket at the same time.

“Phuket control tower said the Thai aircraft was trying to avoid a collision with a Dragonair flight as it was reducing altitude at 1,000 feet above sea level,” Narong said. “The Dragonair plane landed safely, but the Thai aircraft crashed into the sea.”

One Plane Delayed

He said the two planes should have landed 10 minutes apart, but a delay of one of the planes brought them to the airport at the same time.

Officials said the Thai plane was carrying 35 Thai passengers, 2 infants and 37 foreigners to the popular resort island. There were nine Thai crew members aboard.

A partial passenger list made available by Thai Airways identified the Americans aboard as William N. Ward and his Thai-born wife, Jantree Ward. No other details were immediately available.

An airline official, Wilai Oulansatien, said the two Americans boarded the flight at the last moment when two other passengers canceled reservations.

Phuket Gov. Chalerm Promlert said in a telephone interview that the Thai Airways jet crashed into Phangna Bay about a mile off the coast and about eight miles from the Phuket airport.

Sound Like Explosion

The governor quoted two witnesses as saying the plane plunged nose first into the shallow bay. They said they heard a loud sound like an explosion as the plane shattered and sank, he said.

He said some of the wreckage was scattered more than 1,000 yards from the point of impact.

Narong said he could not confirm the reports of an explosion and said the loud sound reported could have been the sound of impact. He said large amounts of wreckage, including some empty life preservers, were scattered in the area.

Marine police official Suriya Pinbradit said three police boats were at the scene along with 14 private boats.

“We have been searching all day, and there is no sign of survivors. We believe everyone aboard was killed,” he said. Many of the foreigners were from nearby Malaysia and Singapore.

40-Minute Flight

Three French, three Japanese and an Italian were also on the passenger list, officials said.

The Thai Airways flight was headed to Phuket on a 40-minute flight from the nearby city of Haad Yai while the Dragonair flight, with 54 passengers on board, was coming from Hong Kong.

Dragonair is a 2-year-old airline based in Hong Kong. Its flight to Phuket is one of the few routes it flies outside of China.

If no survivors are found the crash would be the worst air disaster in Thailand’s history. A total of 72 people, including 19 on the ground, were killed in the worst previous accident on Christmas Day, 1976, when an Egyptian airliner crashed into a Bangkok factory.