The pilot of the plane that crashed on the Thai resort island of Phuket tried to land despite being warned of windshear threats, a Thai aviation official said today.
Buddhist monks and airport officials pray for victims of the plane crash at Phuket airport today. Image: Reuters
The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 veered off the runway in a fierce monsoon storm on Sunday, smashed into a wooded embankment and burst into flames, killing 89 people.
Two other pilots had reported dramatic changes in wind speed and direction as they landed minutes before the One-Two-Go flight, a senior executive at air traffic controller Aerothai said.
"The pilot definitely knew about the wind shear because he was on the same radio frequency as the previous two planes," he said.
"The control tower repeated the conditions to him, and he acknowledged them just before the landing. The tape I listened to verified this," the official said, referring to the communications between the control tower and the plane.
In all, 123 passengers and seven crew were on board.
The family of an Irishman (23) who died in the crash is expected to arrive in the country in the coming days, where they will make arrangements for his remains to be flown home.
Aaron Toland, a student from Derry, was one of four Irish citizens who were on board the One-Two-Go airlines flight from Bangkok when it crashed shortly after 3.30pm on Sunday.
Mr Toland's friend, Christopher Cooley, who is also from Derry, was injured and is in intensive care in hospital.
The flight data recorders from the American-built airliner were sent to the United States and could take two weeks to analyse, officials said.