Bangkok Airways plans to reopen Koh Samui airport at 13:00 today and has confirmed that the captain involved in yesterday's ATR crash died.
Yesterday at around 14:00 a Bangkok Airways ATR 72-500, local registration HS-PGL and local manufacturer's serial number 670, crashed into a disused concrete control tower at the airport after landing in rain.
The captain died and four others on board had serious injuries and two had minor injuries, says the airline, adding that there were 68 passengers, two pilots and two cabin crew on board.
Since the crash the airport has been closed but Bangkok Airways, which owns the airport, plans to re-open it at 13:00 today and resume its normal operations, it says.
In the meantime, it has been operating flights to the mainland coastal city of Surat Thani because from there people can catch ferries to Koh Samui, it adds.
ATR says in a statement that is sending a team to Koh Samui to assist the Thai authorities in the investigation and that it is doing this at the request of French and Thai authorities.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
