Don Muang airport flooded

[regi]

What was expected already last week eventually happened: Don Muang airport flooded, flights diverted to Suvarnabhumi.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2 ... for-safety

[Desert Rat]

Yep,

And all A/C's parked in Suvarnabhumi are fuelled and ready to leave in case of the water level reachs the 2 meter "evacuation limit of the Airport dyke..

[regi]

a 360° view of a completely flooded airport:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/multimedia/p ... port-flood

Imagine the damage on fixed transformators, generators, fuel tanks, electrical connections etcetera ( it was mentioned already that the airport light systems were out )

The repair will cost a lot of money. All the drainage systems are clogged by hardening mud .

Off topic: the damage to the industrial estate is translated in an immediate price hike of computers , up to 40 -50 %. ( the media didn't mention yet digital camera's but a lot of them are made in Thailand as well )
Don't expect to find electronic goodies under the Christmas tree this year.

[regi]

latest images from Suvarnabhumi:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 69043.html

[andorra-airport]

a 360° view of a completely flooded airport:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/multimedia/p ... port-flood

Nice link, thank you! Why did Thai not move the airplanes to other airports, cq "dry grounds" ?

[regi]

a 360° view of a completely flooded airport:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/multimedia/p ... port-flood

Nice link, thank you! Why did Thai not move the airplanes to other airports, cq "dry grounds" ?

The 2 TG airplanes at Don Muang are maybe not airworthy? Don't know.
And The MD-80 airplanes of Orient Thai were waiting to be sold.
According Orient Thai it would have cost too much to fly and park them somewhere else.
But in this case I immediately think about the unused new airport of Nakorn Ratchasima (Khorat ) where there is some space. But more interesting is the wide availability of parking space at U Taphao ( near Sathahip ) Orient Thai has parked there before its airplanes. Remember the very strange story about the TriStars that got damaged at U Taphao - which is a military facility by the way. Maybe there is a manager at Orient Thai who sees it easier to collect insurance fees than trying to sell the airplanes - of which 1 crashed at Phuket. ( and the investigation showed a lot of anomalies at the working of this company, so a possible customer might be afraid to buy those MD-80's concerning maintenance )
But this is all straying off the subject, sorry.
So your question is very normal: why did they let those airplanes on a airport which was anounced to be inundated about a week before?
I think that the most obvious answer is that the planes were not airworthy.

[capetown]

And The MD-80 airplanes of Orient Thai were waiting to be sold.
According Orient Thai it would have cost too much to fly and park them somewhere else.

Does this also apply to Orient Thai's 747's ? Here's a link to some other rather amazing pictures of this once-airfield-turned-into-a-lake

http://www.thaitravelnews.net/features/ ... g-airport/

[regi]

Great pictures indeed! It confirms 2 things:
that I am not in Bangkok at the moment or I would have said immediately that the MD-80's of Orient Thai were not airworthy ( without engines it gets pretty difficult )
The 747 is maybe also a Orient Thai bird. They perform flights to Chiang Mai with it and I cannot imagine that they deliberateley would let it be flooded at Bangkok , returning from Chiang Mai. It would have been evacuated to Suvarnabhumi, or staid at Chiang Mai.

Maybe it is an old bird of Phuket Air.

Am I right that I see at the right hand side the NAMC YS-11 turbo props in top red colour of Phuket air ?

[Desert Rat]

The 2 TG airplanes at Don Muang are maybe not airworthy? Don't know.
.

Two A300-600 for sale.

[andorra-airport]

Two A300-600 for sale.

You are correct. Here is a youtube film worth watching : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMfPvXXEZX4

quote: "There are a few aircrafts within the hangar at the moment. One being converted into a freighter, and two being retrofitted."

The 747 is maybe also a Orient Thai bird. (...) Maybe it is an old bird of Phuket Air.

The one without engines is a Orient Thai indeed, the other one I don't know, but I have seen a photo of a Orient Thai 747 at the gate, in the water at that airport.

Can't help you with the turbo props of Phuket air at this moment Regi, I will look at it later.

Talking about the 747's of Orient Thai, I found something funny : (Thai) Crime Suppression Division is investigating the disappearance of four aircraft engines from a Orient Thai 747, haha!

Read it here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crimes/ ... es/page-2/

[Desert Rat]

[One being converted into a freighter,

The one without engines is a Orient Thai indeed, the other one I don't know,/

I think it is a 744 who was prepared to be sent to China for the freighter conversion, TG was removing the seats, galley, IFE, toilets...

As the A/C is stuck in the hangar, they might have decided to sent to China another 744, in order to not loose their slot.

[capetown]

The 747 is maybe also a Orient Thai bird. They perform flights to Chiang Mai with it and I cannot imagine that they deliberateley would let it be flooded at Bangkok , returning from Chiang Mai. It would have been evacuated to Suvarnabhumi, or staid at Chiang Mai.

Maybe it is an old bird of Phuket Air.

I recall that a couple of days ago I've seen a pic (taken from a different angle) on a website (which, and that's the problem, I don't remember, otherwise I would post the link) where I thought there were 2 orient thai 747's parked in the water. Uhm, off topic, but can we hope for His Highness the Royal Crownprince whose seized B737 was released by the German authorities from Munchen last summer that HIS toy was not parked somewhere around Don Muang ?

[andorra-airport]

I recall that a couple of days ago I've seen a pic (taken from a different angle) on a website (which, and that's the problem, I don't remember, otherwise I would post the link) where I thought there were 2 orient thai 747's parked in the water.

Not sure if you mean this one. But, you can see 2 747's from orient thai:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hp ... 8861_n.jpg

I still don't know from which airline is that white 747.

[earthman]

I still don't know from which airline is that white 747.

Yet another white elephant in Thailand?

[krungbin]

I am in Bangkok now and I confirm that the 2 turboprop are indeed, YS11
And I can confirm as well that the "few inches of water" reported by the resident of Thai Airways became a meter plus a" few inches"!

[regi]

I am in Bangkok now and I confirm that the 2 turboprop are indeed, YS11
"!

thank you for the reply, reporter !

Friends took some years ago the flight Udorn Thani - Chiang Mai performed by such a YS11 of Phuket Airlines.
It was disastrous. Even experienced travellers got airsick.
As far as I know it is a pressurised cabin. But I think that the planes fly very low, undergoing a lot of turbulence.

[krungbin]

Went to Don Muaeng yesterday to help retrieve spares that were stocked on high level floors. In addition to the two 747's (Orient Thai), the 6 MD-83 (One Two Go-Orient Thai), the two YS 11, three TriStar L1011 (?). On the military side, one A310, one 737 (probably the -200) and one HS748 can be seen. And the airport buildings are in a terrible shape, still lot of refugees camping there in precarious conditions, huge quantities of detritrus, and I will not attempt to describe the smell...In my opinion, it will take at least two months of very hard work to rehab the airport after the water recedes...

[caveman]

Not looking good over there ... I've got 3 family members living in Bangkok, at this moment they're still keeping it dry, but don't know how long it stays that way ... the water has to pass BKK one way or another on its way to the sea.

@ Krungbin: Have you got any info how the Thai Aviation Museum at Don Muang is coping? They've got some real gems in their collection ...

[krungbin]

No telephone contact with the Royal Thai Air Force Museum is possible as the landlines are "somewhat wet". I will enquire about the prevailing conditions and will revert. But it is a fair guess to say that their outdoor display is flooded, while the 5 buildings were somehow protected.

[Desert Rat]

There could be as well a 330 on jacks and without engine overthere.