Thai Airways Crash Protocol: Blur Out Logo First, Investigate Accident Second
A Thai Airways plane skidded off the runway this week while landing at an airport in Bangkok. Of course, you wouldn’t be able to tell it was a Thai Airways plane if you looked at the photos. Why? Well, the company had workers black out the logo shortly after the crash.
Thai Airways official, Smud Poom-on, said that blurring the logo after an accident was standard protocol after a crash. The Star Alliance recommends that planes black out the logo in order to protect the company’s reputation as well as other airlines in the Star Alliance.
Of course, I wouldn’t be writing this article if Thai airlines didn’t cover up their logo. So the Star Alliance may want to rethink the practice.
The Huffington Post reports that more than 280 people were on board the plane when it skidded off the runway. Fourteen people were injured in the crash.
The president of Thai Airways, Sorajak Kasemsuvan, said in a statement: “After touchdown at Suvarnabhumi airport, the landing gear malfunctioned and caused the aircraft to skid off the runway. Sparks were noticed from the vicinity of the right landing gear near the engine; the matter is under investigation… The captain took control of the aircraft until it came to a complete stop and passengers were evacuated from the aircraft emergency exits.”
The Guardian notes that most of the injuries came during the evacuation process.
Thai Airways jet skids off the runway Bangkok. Story quickly becomes the fact that officials blacked out plane’s logo pic.twitter.com/ptyAI3fV5E
— Ethan Klapper (@ethanklapper) September 9, 2013
A pic of Thai Airways flight 679- involved in a landing accident at Bangkok (from @MalengSaab ) pic.twitter.com/DllnlpS0WM
— Andrew Lund (@andrew_lund) September 8, 2013
This is the second accident for Thai Airways in less than two weeks. Last month the airline hit severe turbulence during its decent to Hong Kong. Twenty passengers were injured in the rough landing.
