Forensic science investigators have identified four victims from the plane crash in Chachoengsao province from human remains recovered from the crash site, Pol Lt-Gen Trairong Phiwpan, commissioner of the Police Forensic Science Office, told the media today.
Those identified so far are the pilot, co-pilot and two crew members, because the aviation company has records of their fingerprints which were checked against the police automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS), he said, adding that the five Chinese passengers are yet to be identified.
Pol Lt-Gen Trairong went on to say that police have tried to contact family members of the Chinese passengers to help determine their identities.
Phanthit Kulasomboon, a safety officer at the Thai Flying Service Company, which owned the ill-fated Cessna Caravan C208, said that the plane was not equipped with either a flight data or cockpit voice recorder, so determining the cause of the crash will depend on the plane wreckage recovered from the scene.
The plane left Suvarnabhumi international airport at 2.45pm on Thursday and it lost contact with the control tower ten minutes later. It was found to have crashed into a mangrove swamp in Bang Pakong district of Chachoengsao province.
Caretaker Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited the crash site yesterday, said the government has sought help from the US Federal Aviation Administration to determine the cause of the crash, because the plane did not glide after developing trouble and just dived into the ground at a speed of about 80 km/hour (uncontrolled flight into terrain).
He also said that the plane’s engine is unlikely to be the cause because it had been properly serviced.
Pathompong Pannachet, a pilot, said that the Cessna Caravan C208 is used globally because of its reputation for safety, adding that the pilot of the ill-fated plane was experienced and a flight instructor.
He pointed out that it is very unusual for a plane to crash vertically, with its nose down. He said that if the plane developed engine trouble, the pilot would try an emergency landing and would chose somewhere with ample space, such as a rice field without large trees.
