One dead as plane skids off Thai runway
Pilot dies as plane careers off runway on Thai island of Ko Samui
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Tuesday, 04, Aug 2009 11:34
A plane has careered off a runway on the Thai island of Ko Samui, with the pilot dying in the crash.
Bangkok Airways flight PG 266 swerved off the runway on the popular tourist destination at 14:00 local time (09:00 BST) in wet and windy conditions.
After losing control of the ATR72 plane, which was arriving from Krabi province, it crashed into a disused air traffic control tower.
"The plane just pinched the control tower but there was no fire," the island's district chief Sakchai Jorpalit told the AFP news agency.
Several of the 68 passengers and four crew members have been injured, according to the Bangkok Post, but the pilot is understood to be the only confirmed fatality.
Many of the passengers are understood to be tourists, with some suffering broken legs.
Bangkok Airways has cancelled several flights in the wake of the crash.
Koh Samui, a popular destination for backpackers and gap year students, is 480km south of Bangkok.