A small police aircraft crashed into the sea near Hua Hin airport on Friday morning, resulting in the deaths of all six officers onboard.
The 191 Emergency Centre reported the accident at 8.15am, stating that the aircraft went down in the Gulf of Thailand about 100 metres offshore from the Baby Grand Hua Hin Hotel.
The beachside resort is located in Cha-am district of Phetchburi, just one kilometre north of Hua Hin airport and about eight kilometres from Hua Hin town in Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
Onboard the DHC-6-400 Twin Otter aircraft were three pilots, two mechanics and an aircraft engineer.
The aircraft was on a test flight in preparation for a parachute training drill in Hua Hin, said Pol Lt Gen Archayon Kraithong, spokesman for the Royal Thai Police.
Five officers died at the scene: pilots Pol Col Prathan Khiewkham and Pol Lt Col Panthep Maneewachirangkul, along with aircraft engineer Pol Lt Thanawat Mekprasert and mechanics Pol L/Cpl Jeerawat Maksakha and Pol Sgt Maj Prawat Pholhongsa.
Another seriously injured pilot, Pol Capt Chaturong Wattanapaisarn, was rushed to Hua Hin Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries at about 4pm on Friday.
National police chief Kittharath Punpetch on Friday inspected the crash site and also visited Pol Capt Chaturong in hospital before he passed away.
The plane, one of three Twin Otters acquired by the Royal Thai Police in 2020, had recently undergone maintenance, according to local media reports.
An initial investigation showed that the aircraft lost stability shortly after leaving the runway. Video taken from shore showed the plane ascending and then going into a vertical nosedive.
Despite pilots’ attempts to regain control, it plunged into the sea, with the fuselage appearing to break in two upon impact.
An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the crash.
Rescuers try to help people from the aircraft after it crashed into the Gulf of Thailand on Friday. (Photo: 191 Emergency Centre via Wassayos Ngamkham)