The jinx of the C-130 aircraft (updated)
3 December, 2005
Are you a C-130 frequent flyer?
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With the downward spiral in the popularity of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the atmosphere in the Thai Rak Thai Party has turned bleak. Fewer faces are showing up in support of the embattled PM. Others are trying to distance themselves from the political pariah. During the Sondhi hoopla, not a single prominent TRT power, save for Phumtham Wechayachai, stood up to defend the prime minister.
A Thai Rak Thai veteran said that ominous signs could be detected at Khunying Pojamarn Shinawatra's birthday party on November 22. There were fewer well-wishers than last year when it was treated as a "must event".
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"Before, people would come to give a blessing to the Khunying on the eve of her birthday, on the day of her birthday and even a day after her birthday," the veteran said. "Now the atmosphere was rather quiet, not hectic like before."
If a Royal Thai Air Force C-130 aircraft had been commissioned to fly people from all over the country to Bangkok, would more people have shown up to cheer Khunying Pojamarn as she blew out the candles on her birthday cake?
We wonder. Few people know that the C-130 aircraft is a jinx.
Monthatip Kovit-charoenkul, Thaksin's younger sister, has been accused by maverick tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul of abusing her privileges by flying a group of her friends on a C-130 to attend a party at her new home in Chiang Mai. This controversy has enormously hurt the image of the Thaksin government.
If Monthatip had known about the C-130 jinx, she would never have wanted to have anything to do with it.
In 1991, Lt Gen Chatichai Choonhavan, then prime minister, was toppled by a military coup led by Gen Suchinda Khraprayoon. He was captured while he was on board in a C-130 in Don Muang. A group of Royal Air Force officers working for ACC Kaset Rojananil staged the audacious assault, trundling Chatichai away into house arrest.
Mohammad Zia ul-Haq (1924-88), the Pakistani military and political leader, died in a C-130 crash. The C-130 is considered one of the safest aircraft in the world. Powered by four engines, it is practically immune to crashes. The big bird can land with only a single engine working.
Zia was named general and chief of staff by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1976. He declared martial law in July, 1977, in response to allegations of election fraud. He imprisoned Bhutto, who was subsequently executed. Zia became president in 1978 declaring the "Islamization" of Pakistan.
How did Zia die in a C-130 plane crash? It's still a mystery today in Pakistan.
Updated on December 6, 2005
Bangkokian would like to update further jinx of the C-130 aircraft, which crashed in Teharan on December 6, 2005.
According to CNN, an Iranian military transport plane with more than 90 people on board has crashed into a building in a residential area of Tehran, according to officials and state-run media.
The mayor of Tehran said all those on board had been killed in Tuesday's crash. Tehran state radio said 25 people were killed and 15 were injured in the building.
The C-130 aircraft was headed for the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran when the pilot reported technical difficulties and was returning to base, according to Abdul Rahimi, a spokesman for Iran's civil aviation authority.
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