Aviation incidents soar in Thailand after Covid

According to the Thailand Annual Safety Report 2023 released on Aug. 4, there were 11 “serious incidents” last year involving aircraft registered in Thailand and in other countries, a rapid rise from only two in 2021 and six in 2022.

Although the number of “serious incidents” rose, the number of aircraft “accidents” last year dropped to two from four in 2022. The accident rate remains fairly steady, and there has been a significant increase in serious incidents since 2021 and the end of the coronavirus pandemic, the report said.

Most of the serious incidents in 2023 involved commercial aircraft, and the rest privately owned planes.

Serious incidents included an aircraft making an emergency landing at Hat Yai airport on June 24 last year due to smoke in the cockpit, and a plane touching down before reaching the runway at Samui airport on Aug. 29, 2023.

Birdstrike was the most reported occurrence, almost 43% of the total last year, the report said without offering more information. It said only that there were 1,610 cases related to bird issues, covering bird encounters and bird strikes. Issues involving other wildlife came second, a long way behind, with 410 incidents.