FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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CAAT instructing 5 Thai airlines to carry out thorough inspection of Boeing 737-800

CAAT instructing 5 Thai airlines to carry out thorough inspection of Boeing 737-800

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) is notifying five airlines in Thailand that use the Boeing 737-800 to inspect their aircraft thoroughly and monitor flight operations closely after the crash of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing.

Flight MU5735 left Kunming in Yunnan at 1.11pm on Monday with 132 people on board. It was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou, Guangdong, at 3.05pm but air traffic controllers lost track of the plane over Wuzhou at 2.21pm. All 123 passengers and nine crew on board reportedly lost their lives in the tragic accident.

China Eastern Airlines subsequently grounded its fleet of 106 Boeing 737-800s until further notice.

“This week, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air, K-Mile Air, Thai Airways International and Thai Summer Airways will receive a letter ordering them to perform a thorough investigation of their Boeing 737-800 aircraft,” CAAT director-general Suttipong Kongpool said on Wednesday.

“Should they find any abnormality, the airlines must notify CAAT immediately.”

There are currently 26 of the Boeings being used by Thai airlines – 14 owned by Nok Air, 7 by Thai Lion Air, 2 each by K-Mile Air and Thai Airways International, and one by Thai Summer Airways.

“All active aircraft must pass safety inspections and receive a Certificate of Airworthiness, which must be renewed every three years,” said Suttipong.

“We suspect the recent accident could have been due to a technical malfunction, not because this particular model is faulty as in the case of the 737 Max, as Boeing 737-800s have been used by several airlines for almost 20 years now,” he added.

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