Which is probably due to major airlines preferring major events like f.e. Air France A330 disappearing into the South Atlantic .

and used to be done in circa the 80s when pictures were not plastered around the globe in what...2 seconds? stupid outdated practice that does little for brand protection.

don't recall what Air France did in YYZ when it ran through the runway.

also, pretty sure BA did not do some stupid thing that thai did when they had a problem at LHR.

alitalia has got to take the cake for their paint job. but, given there are ones out there witout it, it really does not matter.

again, not effective to protect brand.

There wasn't much left to paint on the AF plane. :p

http://www.barnardmicrosystems.com/P...p_image073.jpg

Wow - just read about this now... Flew in from HKT to BKK Sunday night at 9 pm and then went straight to the airport hotel, slept and got up for the 7:35 am flight to NRT... Had no idea any of this was going on !

Time to take this seriously
 

All joking aside - and I did like the comment asking why they didn't paint the whole thing - one wonders if this kind of cover-up is typical at Thai Airways.

First off - doesn't any kind of paint job run the risk of destroying evidence? Say hypothetically, there is some sort of crack in the fuselage that spread to the landing gear. Painting the plane could mask this issue, or even cause the crack to propagate further, making the investigation more difficult. Unlikely I guess, but say if they painted all over the landing gear to cover up the Thai Airways colors. I think we would definitely describe that as destroying potential evidence. Someone has to draw the line here, and the line should be that nothing is touched till they figure out the problem.

So, does TG do this kind of thing on a routine basis? Papering over the cracks you might say. I have no idea whether their data is good, but an Aussie website reporting on air safety (http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/holiday...safety-records) says "Thai Airways doesn't have a gleaming safety record either — four fatal crashes in 1.98 million flights, an Adjusted Fatal Event figure of 3.69 and an accident rate that is 306 percent WORSE than average". It reports that AA is 234 BETTER than average and Southwest is 568% BETTER. No doubt TG would dispute the numbers, can of paint in hand.

I bet these figures can be diced all kinds of ways. But the way in which the extremely young Thai stewardesses walk around the plane at a time when the captain on a jet in the US would insist on the FA being strapped in tells me something. And the other thing is that I often think that I'd much prefer a 55 year old AA, UA or DL FA in an emergency than some scared screaming kid on TG or many other Asian airlines. Because I bet that is what you'd get.

I like TG but I never feel that I am getting the safest ride. I am open to being convinced otherwise - but not by a TG manager who participated in this cover-up job.

Clarification on flight TG679 from Guangzhou to Bangkok on 8 September 2013

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) provided clarification on flight TG679 from Guangzhou to Bangkok on 8 September 2013, whereby the aircraft skidded off the runway upon landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Dr. Sorajak Kasemsuvan, THAI President, said that on 8 September 2013, flight TG679, operated with Airbus A330-300 aircraft, departed from Guangzhou to Bangkok at 21.25 hours (local time in Guangzhou) and arrived in Bangkok at 23.20 hours. As after touchdown at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the landing gear malfunction and the aircraft skidded off the runway. Fire spark were noticed from the vicinity right landing gear near the engine, the matter is under to be investigation. The captain took control of the aircraft until it came to a complete stop and passengers were evacuated passengers from the aircraft’s emergency exits. The cooperation was conducted by the Captain and the crew strictly.

The aircraft carried 288 passengers and 14 cabin crew. Initially, 13 passengers received minor injuries while evacuating the aircraft. THAI staff provided assistance to passengers and transfer those injured to hospital. THAI will conduct an investigation as to the cause of the incident.

THAI regrets any conveniences to passengers. For more information, passengers may contact the Company’s Crisis Management Operations Center (CMOC) at Tel. 02-545-3181, 24-hours a day.

Good summarized article from bangkok post.

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) chairman Sita Divari said the plane's landing gear malfunctioned.

Sqn Ldr Sita said the plane landed as normal and travelled for about 1km until the landing gear broke,...

Below is the picture of runway damage.
http://avherald.com/img/thai_a333_hs...k_130908_6.jpg

Yeah, it was obviously just a landing with an anomaly. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Does everyone have to die for it to be a crash landing?

What did it crash into?

In particular the agile and strong 100kg++ FA, who can move 3 in a row along the isle and out of the emergency exit

This was my reaction as well, then someone pointed out to me that not everyone is an aviation nut that can recognize airlines by their livery.

Interesting discussion about the "normal" procedure of "de-identifying" an aircraft after a major incident. I have to admit I was not aware of this when I made the comment. However, I stand by my assertion that the Thai management shot themselves in the foot. The Alitalia paint job was the right one...paint the whole aircraft.

One does not have to be an "aviation nut" to immediately register that this is a Thai aircraft......just look at the other aircraft in the photo, and the tens of other Thai aircraft on the apron....of course its a Thai aircraft!! Typical of Thai to get it so badly wrong that it has resulted in even worse negative publicity than if they had left it the way it was!!

It's not good to have a plane run off the runway, but (standard procedure or not) TG's actions have just made things worse. See here and here and here.

The other thing which I think is puzzling is the changing story:

• Star Alliance made us do it ("no we didn't" according to *A)
• The airport authority did it (does anyone really believe an airport authority would just decide to paint a plane?)
• Next will be: We have consulted our records and a plane did not run off the runway. Also, we have no plane. The picture is false. Please smell our fragrant rice for a touch of Thainess.

Aircraft incidents happen, but it's the airline response which causes me concern in this situation. Is anyone else noticing issues since Armarand was moved on?

really?

ha ha to Thai. several news agencies said the paint job was a cover up.

too funny. it damaged their brand more than just the accident/crash or whatever.