Army plane carrying four crashes

Army plane carrying four crashes

An army patrol plane is found crashed in the woods near the Myanmar border in Mae Hong Son on Thursday. (Royal Thai Army photo)
An army patrol plane is found crashed in the woods near the Myanmar border in Mae Hong Son on Thursday. (Royal Thai Army photo)

MAE HONG SON: An army patrol plane carrying four people crashed and burned in the woods near the Myanmar border on Thursday afternoon.

A search and rescue helicopter found the fixed-wing Cessna-182 in a forest near Nam Huay Sai Kho in Muang district, 30km to the north of the airport.

The people on board could not be reached by mobile phones. There was a signal on one but the call went unanswered.

The plane left Mae Hong Son airport at 11.05am to support a patrol task force monitoring for natural resource destruction. 

It was assigned to patrol areas to the north of Mae Hong Son.

While flying 2,500 feet high 18km north of the air traffic control tower, it disappeared from the radar screen and lost contact.

The two pilots on the plane are Lt Naruepol Pookthong and Lt Varoj Plaengkrathok. The others are Lt Khemmaraj Duangkaew and SM1 Natchanon Khuenkaew.

The army’s 21st Aviation Battalion has nine Cessna-182s, four of which are under repair and maintenance.

The army announced late Thursday night that the three lieutenants were killed. The other soldier survived but sustained broken bones and was conscious. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

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