Defunct Thai carrier One-Two-Go's former chief executive has been sentenced in absentia to a prison term of four years and a hefty fine by French authorities, more than a decade after a fatal Boeing MD-80 crash.
Investigators determined that the MD-82's crew failed to execute a go-around properly as the aircraft approached Phuket in September 2007. It lost altitude and crashed adjacent to the runway, with 90 fatalities.
French citizens were among the casualties and victims' association FENVAC says that a court has ruled that the former chief, Udom Tantiprasongchai, should be imprisoned for allowing crews to exceed maximum duty times.
"The exhausted pilots could not adopt the appropriate maneuvers in the face of the critical weather situation they faced in the cockpit," claims the association.
It says the airline chief stood accused of aggravated manslaughter and gross negligence. The airline is no longer operational. FENVAC says an international arrest warrant is still active.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
