Family Of Thai Politician Filed Suit Friday

Claiming design and manufacturing flaws caused the December 11, 1998, Thai Airways crash of a A310-200, the family of a Thai politician who perished in the accident filed suit Friday against the plane's manufacturer, Airbus, reported the Associated Press.

The family of Tawat Wichaidit, who was a member of the Thai Parliament, is asking the Bangkok Civil Court to award them compensation and damages of $3.13 million for negligence, lost income, and mental stress, said their lawyer.

The flight from Bangkok crashed in a swamp when making its third approach after two aborted landing attempts in heavy evening rain. In addition to Thai passengers, US, Austria, Britain, Finland, Germany, Japan and Norway citizens also died in the crash.

A November 12, 2007, court hearing will determine whether the court will accept the case for trial.

Wichaidit was one of 101 people who died when the Airbus A310-200, operated by Thai International Airways, crashed near Surat Thani airport, 330 miles south of Bangkok, according to UPI. Forty-five people survived.

The lawsuit against Airbus claims that the plane was designed and manufactured "without the exercise of perception and carefulness as should (be) expected."

"It could lead the airplane into a stall condition in some situations, and if by chance there was the fault of the electrical system occurring at that time, then it would cause the airplane to crash," it said.

In response to reports of the lawsuit, Airbus spokeswoman Marie Caujolle said, "The accident has been thoroughly investigated by the Thai authorities as well as the French Accident Investigation Bureau and the American NTSB, as per ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) recommendations."

"We have nothing to add to this exhaustive report, which was published several years ago, and will not comment further."

The Thai government has never publicized any official findings it may have made about the cause of the crash.

About a year following the investigation, Thai aviation officials said equipment had malfunctioned on the plane, contributing to the accident, said UPI. However, an Airbus spokesman said at the time that the panel of inquiry had not informed the company of any fault with the aircraft.

Other possible explanations for the crash have also been leaked to the press, including pilot error.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.thaiair.com