Six police officers died in a plane crash that landed in the ocean near a popular Thai beach town. According to the BBC, the aircraft crashed around 8 AM on Friday, April 25, while performing a test flight.
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They conducted this parachute training test flight with six people on board, and the crash into the water resulted in five of them dying on the scene. First responders brought the sixth person to the hospital in critical condition. Unfortunately, they later succumbed to their injuries and died. Every victim of this crash was a police officer.
Plane Crash On Water Kills Six Police Officers
The small plane fell into the Gulf of Thailand in a coastal resort area in Thailand's Cha-am district. It landed around 100 meters offshore, and upon crashing, the plane broke in half.
This aircraft appeared to be a Viking DHC-6 Twin Otter according to photos from the scene, per AP News. Authorities are attempting to look at the plane's black box data to find out how the crash happened.
Bangkok Post claimed that the small plane crashed near Hua Hin airport, and closest to the Baby Grand Hua Hin Hotel. From the six police officers on board, there were three pilots, two mechanics, and an aircraft engineer.
They managed to get the names of the dead officers. The two pilots who died on the scene were Pol Col Prathan Khiewkham and Pol Lt Col Panthep Maneewachirangkul. Pol L/Cpl Jeerawat Maksakha and Pol Sgt Maj Prawat Pholhongsa were the mechanics. Finally, the aircraft engineer was Pol Lt Thanawat Mekprasert
Meanwhile, the third pilot who succumbed to his wounds in the hospital was Pol Capt Chaturong Wattanapaisarn. They rushed him to Hua Hin Hospital, but he later passed away at 4 PM that same day.
The outlet reported that local media claimed the aircraft had recently undergone maintenance. It was one of the three Twin Otters that the Royal Thai Police obtained in 2020.
On top of that, an investigation showed that the plane began to lose stability shortly after taking off. Video footage caught the moment when the plane began to ascend before taking a nosedive into the water.
