Thai Airways International Flight 620
Osaka International Airport , Osaka, Japan | |
Passengers | 233 |
---|---|
Crew | 14 |
Fatalities | 0 |
Injuries | 109 |
Survivors | 247 (all) |
Thai Airways International Flight 620 was a scheduled
Incident
At around 8PM of October 26, 1986, Thai Airways International Flight 620 (Airbus A300-600, Registration HS-TAE) was cruising above
As a result of the explosion and the aircraft's violent turbulence, a total of 109 passengers and crew suffered injuries, with 14 of them suffering severe injuries.[11]
Investigation
Initially, it was believed that, like Japan Air Lines Flight 123 a year before, some sort of a mechanical problem was to blame for the incident.[12] While the aircraft was delivered less than three weeks before the incident, the pressurization devices were having issues in the week leading up to the incident, with reports being made that warning lights were turning on.[12]
However, it was quickly revealed after the aircraft was examined by the Osaka Prefectural Police that the explosion was caused by some sort of an explosive that was brought in, rather than the aircraft itself.[4][13] Ultimately, a 43-year-old yakuza of the Yamaguchi-gumi admitted to smuggling the hand grenade into the aircraft. The yakuza stated that he "accidentally pulled the safety pin off in the toilet that was at the rear left area of the toilet" and that "he tried to put the pin back in, but it didn't work, so he left it behind in the toilet and let it blow up".[2][3][5][10][14]
Aftermath
The yakuza who brought in the hand grenade was not arrested until after he was discharged from the hospital, because the man had suffered severe burns all over his body as oil from a broken hydraulic pipe poured over him during the incident.[3]
The aircraft involved, HS-TAE, was delivered less than three weeks before the incident on October 9.[11][12] As such, the aircraft was flown back to Bangkok with quick repair done at Osaka, and later a full repair was done and subsequently returned to service. The aircraft continued to fly for Thai Airways International. In 2008, the aircraft was transferred to Unical Aviation and registered as N395EF. The aircraft has since been scrapped.[15]
As of April 2024, Thai Airways International still uses Flight 620 for one of its Bangkok-Manila flights, though the flight no longer continues to Osaka.
References
- Aviation Safety Network.
- ^ UPI. Archivedfrom the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ Japan Times. 30 October 1986. Archivedfrom the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Police say grenade caused Airbus blast". China Daily. 31 October 1986. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ "Yakuza Branches Out". Associated Press. 2 November 1986. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ "Passengers Tell of Plunge in Jetliner". Los Angeles Times. 27 October 1986. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
- ^ "Criminal Acts Against Civil Aviation 1986" (PDF).
- Asahi Shimbun(in Japanese). 1986-10-28.
- ^ ISBN 4808940035.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ a b "タイ航空機、圧力隔壁破壊で緊急着陸". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 1986-10-27.
- ^ a b c "最新鋭機が「なぜ」 タイ機事故、首ひねる航空関係者". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 1986-10-27.
- ^ "だれがタイ機に爆発物". Asahi Shimbun (Evening Edition) (in Japanese). 1986-10-29.
- ^ "タイ機爆発、故意ほのめかす供述". Asahi Shimbun (Evening Edition) (in Japanese). 1986-10-29.
- ^ "N395EF Unical Aviation Airbus A300-600". www.planespotters.net. 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- ^ a b "Flight history for Thai Airways flight TG620". Flightradar24. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)