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Published on October 13, 2007

The air crash investigation committee will spend a few more months to finalise what actually caused the plane crash in Phuket last month, but its chairman said yesterday wind shear was one likely factor in the tragedy.

Chaisawat Kittipornpaibul, also Transport permanent secretary, said after the meeting the committee had had progress in collecting data and circumstantial evidence, following the return of the decoding results of the two black boxes from One-Two-Go Flight OG029.

The boxes were in good condition, with the voice recordings and flight data well preserved, he said.

A sub-committee will now analyse the data from the black boxes, taking into account circumstantial evidence.

"Some conflicting data will be sent to the US central investigation unit for consultation. The unit will help us analyse the data to find the actual cause, which is an international practice," he said.

Chaisawat said US-based Boeing, which took over McDonald-Douglas years ago, would also send investigators.

"Both parties expect to spend two to three months on the investigation. The committee will then review both units' reports and finalise the cause of the crash," he said.

The conclusion would then be submitted to Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen.

"We can't yet finalise the actual cause that led to the accident in Phuket, but it is agreed that bad weather conditions which generated the wind shear is one of the causes. However, it is not the only cause, as many factors are involved in every accident," Chaisawat said.

Chaisak Angkasuwan, director-general of the Civil Aviation Department, added that Boeing officials had already investigated the wreckage and its data would be compared with that from the black boxes.

Boeing's mission is to find any malfunctions by the plane.

Two US law firms recently threatened to file charges against Boeing for damage claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars, on behalf of the families of passengers killed in the accident.

The Nation