History of the Flight
On 4 August 2009, at 1:30 p.m., an ATR72-212A aircraft, registration HS-PGL, operated by Bangkok Airways as flight PG266, departed from Krabi International Airport bound for Samui International Airport. The flight carried 4 crew members and 68 passengers, totaling 72 occupants. The pilot was the pilot flying (PF) and the co-pilot was the pilot monitoring (PM), responsible for radio communications.
At 2:06:13 p.m., the flight reported being 9 miles on final approach to Samui Tower. The tower instructed the flight to report at 4 miles. At 2:07:19 p.m., the tower cleared the flight to land on runway 35, advising wind from 310 degrees at 15 knots. At 2:09:50 p.m., the automatic callout for 500 feet was heard. At 2:10:06 p.m., the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) issued a “SINK RATE” warning due to an excessive descent rate. The aircraft passed the runway threshold at 12 feet at 2:10:14 p.m. At 2:10:18 p.m., the nose landing gear and main landing gear touched down simultaneously approximately 180 meters from the threshold at a speed of 117 knots. The aircraft’s nose then veered left and right of the runway centerline, and it veered off the runway after traveling about 468 meters from the touchdown point. At 2:10:28 p.m., the aircraft departed the left side of the runway at 65 knots. The left wingtip struck the roof of the fire engine parking building, causing the aircraft to rotate left. The nose then collided with a pillar and wall of the meteorological office building, formerly a control tower, at 43 knots. The aircraft came to a stop at 2:10:33 p.m.
Injuries to Persons
The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The co-pilot and 7 passengers suffered serious injuries. One other crew member and 6 passengers received minor injuries, while the remaining 55 passengers were uninjured.
Damage to Aircraft
The aircraft was substantially damaged. The nose landing gear was broken and folded back, with both tyres blown out. The lower left and right fuselage (frames 1–13) exhibited dents 0.5 to 0.75 inches deep. The lower left fuselage (frames 33–34) had dents and scratches. The aircraft’s nose collapsed back to the first row of passenger seats due to the collision. The left wingtip was torn, and the left wing was damaged from striking the roofs of the meteorological office and fire engine parking buildings. All six blades of the left engine propeller were torn off, and the right propeller sustained approximately 5 centimeters of tip damage from contact with a pile of rocks.
Other Damage
The meteorological office building suffered damage to its tiles, roof structure, pillars, and front wall. The fire engine parking building had one pillar destroyed, along with roof tiles and structural damage. The roof collapse damaged a fire engine, and a meteorological officer’s car was damaged by falling debris.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 57, held an Airline Transport Pilot Licence first issued on 29 August 1991 and last renewed on 29 August 2007, effective until 28 August 2012. His ratings included single- and multi-engine land, EMB-110P2, SD3-60, SD3-30, co-pilot ATR 72, pilot ATR 72, and pilot ATR 42. A Class 1 medical certificate was issued on 30 July 2009, valid until 29 July 2010, with a limitation requiring corrective lenses for near vision. His total flight time on the ATR 72 was 6,001:17 hours, with 100:58 hours in the last 90 days and 46:33 hours in the last 30 days. The last flight was on 2 August 2009 (4:45 hours), and rest period before duty was 24 hours.
The co-pilot, aged 36, nationality Thai, held appropriate licences (details not fully specified in the source).
Probable Cause
The investigation determined that the cause of the accident was that the pilot was unable to control the aircraft after touchdown on the runway due to the aircraft’s high descent rate before landing and the high speed at the moment of landing.