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Published on September 18, 2007

Revealing the critical moments before a One-Two-Go airliner crashed into the runway of Phuket International Airport on Sunday, a Phang Nga native said he and his girlfriend survived only because he thought quickly about what to do.

Chatree Suksawas, 26, who was taking his Canadian girlfriend, Mildred Anne Furlong, to visit his family in Phang Nga, was the first passenger to kick the emergency door open moments after the crash.

The couple was among 41 survivors of Flight OG269 from Bangkok. Eighty-nine others died, most of them foreign tourists from the United States, Europe, Australia, Iran and Israel.

From his hospital bed, Chatree said there was no warning from the pilot. It appeared that the pilot wanted the passengers to believe that the situation was under control, he said.

However, Chatree sensed something was wrong as the plane came in to land during a heavy storm. He felt the plane hit the ground hard, causing it to bounce violently before sliding to the left and crashing into an earthen wall that tore off the left wing.

"I saw flames from the front of the plane and me and my girlfriend took off our seatbelts. We ran to the mid-plane emergency door, which I kicked open, and we jumped out. Looking back, we saw the plane was on fire. Although we narrowly escaped, we could imagine how much grief and loss there would be afterwards," Chatree said.

Chatree and Furlong, 23, suffered slight injuries. He said that after they were admitted to Krungthep Phuket Hospital, One-Two-Go airline officials informed them the airline would cover their medical bills.

"It will take us a while before we board a plane again," he added.

As Chatree's parents rushed to Phuket yesterday, Chatree said he was grateful to be able to perform the Thai tradition of bowing down and touching their feet in a sign of respect. "I felt like I almost died; I didn't know if I would ever be able to greet them like this again," he said.

Furlong said the journey from Bangkok went well until the landing, when it felt like the plane was diving and the pilot was trying to pull up. Surviving was unbelievable because everything happened so fast, she said.

Other survivors said the plane landed hard and went out of control. "You could tell we were in trouble because it landed then came up [off the tarmac] a second time," said John Gerard O'Donnell from Ireland, who was speaking from his hospital bed.

"I came out on the wing of the plane ... the exit door was crushed and I had to squeeze through. I saw my friend outside. He had just got out before me. Next thing, the plane really caught fire and I got badly burned on my face, legs and arms," he said.

Marcel Squinobal, a 33-year-old restaurant owner from Vorarl-berg Bregenz in Austria, said that as the plane landed it bounced and swerved dramatically to both sides. He said there were no warnings or instructions from the cockpit or crew on how to evacuate.

"I don't understand why we didn't re-route to Krabi. We could have taken a bus to Phuket," said Squinobal.

The restaurateur and seasoned traveller said it was his first time in Thailand. He said he would never be back, and that once he flies home, he would never set foot on a plane again. "I love flying, but now, no more," he said.

Both pilots and three of the five cabin crew were killed in the crash, according to the airline.

A cruel twist of fate for many of the airline staff on board doomed flight

Look Bua, a flight attendant and a popular blogger on www.oknation.net, mourns the death of air crew and passengers in the One-Two-GO aircraft crash in Phuket on Sunday.

It was my day off. So, I planned to spend my time leisurely and to tidy up my room a bit after working so hard on flights for many consecutive days.

But in the late morning in this country (I'm overseas) - late afternoon in Thailand, the greatest shock hit me while I was surfing the Internet to check out news updates.

I came across news reports about the "air crash" of a One-Two-Go aircraft in Phuket.

Once I knew about it, I urgently called Thailand because many of my friends have worked as crew for this airline. (I could say that my heart really sank upon learning of this accident.)

My first few calls hardly got any new information as all my friends did not know much either. All they knew was what they heard from TV news reports. So, I hung up and checked information from the Internet and some TV channels that were broadcast from Thailand.

From what I learned from news reports, the captain's attempt to land in the face

of poor visibility and a heavy downpour was unsuccessful. He tried to go around again but

the aircraft crashed onto

the runway and hit an embankment, causing two explosions.

A number of people were in-jured and killed… This is what I could conclude from the news reports.

I tried to contact my friends again to check who was on that flight. At first, I was told that "Vor" [initial letter] was the chief of flight attendants on that flight.

I almost collapsed because we were quite close.

However, a friend later called me with new information. It was unbelievable. It was really

hard to believe or whatever.

But what she said caused goose bumps. She said the crew on

that flight, including the co-pilot, were called in at the last minute for unknown reasons (fate?).

 All staff initially scheduled to serve on this flight were replaced. Some flight attendants and the co-pilot on the flight were called in while they were on standby.

The ones who were replaced survived. It is their luck (?).

But for those who come to replace them, it is very distressing. And you will become sadder when you know that… the

co-pilot was one of the few Thais working for this airline. (Most pilots and co-pilots at this

airliner are foreigners). My friends told me that this co-pilot in fact already 'submitted a

resignation letter' because he had 'successfully passed the exam to work as a pilot for Thai Airways International'. He was about to become a trainee with them. After hearing this, my hair stood on end.

The chief flight attendant, 'May', was just promoted (her career was bright).

Three trainees on the flight had just started working on flights. Just months ago, they were celebrating "becoming flight attendants".

The scene that made me burst into tears was when I saw a woman, who looked very much like a rural villager (like my mother), walking around the Suvarnabhumi Airport in search of her son, who was working as a flight attendant… It was heartbreaking.

The Nation