The delayed evacuation of passengers on Nok Air Flight DD108 after a landing mishap in Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang airport shows serious errors of judgement from the emergency responders.
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft which had 164 passengers and six crew onboard landed amid heavy rain, skidding off the runway on Saturday night. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
Landing trouble amid turbulent weather is possible but the following practice, leaving the passengers on board in the dark, literally and figuratively, for an hour or so is unthinkable.
On Saturday night, 20 elderly people and children were reportedly allowed to leave the aircraft and taken away on a van. But the remaining passengers were told to remain seated, waiting for coaches arranged by the airline to take them to the terminal. The captain turned off the engine, lights and air conditioning, making the cabin stuffy and unbearable.
Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) director Suttipong Kongpool issued a public critique, asking why the pilot did not follow the international aviation standard protocols requiring immediate evacuation of passengers within 90 seconds. Despite the protocol not being legally binding, there is a stark difference between this and one hour.
Passengers complained the crew provided little if any assistance. There were no proper explanations given as to what was going on, except that walking on runways was not permissible. Moreover, the crew communicated mostly in Thai, leaving foreigners confused.
At one point an angry male passenger took a video, showing the poor conditions he and others were facing. As a flight attendant tried to stop him, the scene grew tense.
As the passengers became restless, the captain eventually permitted one emergency exit door to be opened so they could disembark on a slide. It's unclear why the captain did not open other exit doors to accommodate more passengers. They were also upset that no crew were at the terminal to assist them.
In an apology note, Nok Air blamed the chaos on communication problems, maintaining that it attaches importance to passenger safety. However this drew even more criticism. Citing the rain and darkness at the crash site as an excuse for not allowing passengers to leave the doomed aircraft is borderline ridiculous.
The CAAT director vowed to investigate the incident. Mr Suttipong said the agency planned to summon the captain to explain the rationale behind such a problematic decision.
Countering the Nok Air captain's view, the CAAT director insists that air passengers are allowed to stand on runways, which is prohibited in normal circumstances, in the event of an emergency, such as what happened to the Don Mueang-Chiang Rai flight.
Critics noted that in similar incidents involving other airlines, captains and crew were seen helping passengers to leave the aircraft from the beginning until the end. This does not seem to have been the case for Nok Air Flight DD108. They also raised valid questions about whether the captain and crew received proper training regarding safety protocols. In particular, it raises a key question about the safety standards of this low-cost airline in the event of more serious incidents.
The CAAT is expected to extend its investigation and hopefully clear up all public suspicions, assuring people that all the key issues are being properly addressed for the sake of aviation safety standards.
