One-Two-GO Airlines

One-Two-GO Airlines Co. Ltd[1] (Thai: วัน-ทู-โก แอร์ไลน์) was a low-cost airline based in Don Mueang, Bangkok, Thailand.[2] Its main base was Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok.[3] It was owned and managed by Orient Thai Airlines and CEO Udom Tantiprasongchai and his wife Nina Tantiprasongchai. The One-Two-GO brand was retired in July 2010, after the crash of flight OG 269 in September 2007 was blamed substantially on misconduct by the airline, with the aircraft re-branded under Orient Thai Airlines. On 9 October 2018, Orient Thai Airlines ceased all operations.[4][5]

Not to be confused with One Two Three Airlines.
One-Two-GO Airlines
วัน ทู โก แอร์ไลน์
IATA ICAO Callsign
OG OTG THAI EXPRESS
Founded2003 (2003)
Commenced operations3 December 2003 (2003-12-03)
Ceased operationsJuly 2010 (2010-07)
(merged into Orient Thai Airlines)
Operating basesDon Mueang International Airport
Parent companyOrient Thai Airlines
HeadquartersDon Mueang, Bangkok, Thailand
Key peopleUdom Tantiprasongchai (Chairman)

History

The airline started operations on 3 December 2003.[3]

Crash of Flight 269
Main article: One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269

Following the crash of OG 269 in Phuket, Thailand on 16 September 2007, One-Two-GO was banned from flying in European Union nations due to safety concerns.[6]

On 8 April 2009, the European Commission added One-Two-GO Airlines to its blacklist of airline operators banned from entering European airspace.[7]

Corruption within One-Two-GO Airlines and the Thai Department of Civil Aviation was a factor for the crash investigators of Flight 269.

Australia's Channel 9 broadcast a program in November 2007 which detailed accusations of maintenance fraud and specifically by CEO Udom Tantiprasongchai, coercion and bribery of pilots to fly excessive hours.[8] The program contained an interview with lead Thai investigator Director-General Vuttichai Singhamany as he reviewed the daily flight rosters for One-Two-GO given to him by reporter Ferguson, documenting the Captain and First Officer's schedules showing that both pilots had flown beyond the legal limit for the week and for the month of the crash. Director-General Vuttichai said he would demand an explanation for the fraud from One-Two-GO.[8]

In late February 2008, the victim's families, concerned about the impartiality and transparency of the crash investigation, created a website and on-line petition called InvestigateUdom.com calling for a proper investigation into the root causes of the crash.[9]

The lead Thai Department of Civil Aviation investigator reported that documents he had received from One-Two-GO were fiction. The National Transportation Safety Board (which were also investigating the accident) report included the true work rosters, obtained by the family of a victim. The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report documented possible check ride fraud among four other One-Two-GO pilots in the months following the crash.[10]: 29 [11][12]

Three years after the crash, the British government began its inquest process into the deaths of the eight British citizens killed. The inquest, held 22–23 March 2011, was presided over by H.M. Coroner, S.P.G. Fisher. Coroner Fisher relied on a British aviation investigator, the NTSB, and Thai reports, and victim and family statements to make his conclusions.[13] He cited the "flagrant disregard for passenger safety" by the airline and said, "the primary failure so far as I am concerned relates to the corporate culture which prevailed both One-Two-GO Airlines and Orient Thai Airlines prior to and following the air crash." Fisher twice contacted the airline to send a representative to the hearing. The airline replied that they would not take part in the proceedings.[13]

Former destinations

One-Two-GO Airlines served domestic destinations Chiang Rai and Phuket from their base at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok.

Former fleet
A One-Two-GO Boeing 757 in storage at the Victorville Airport.(Registration Number: HS-BTA)
A One-Two-GO MD-82.(Registration Number: HS-OMC)

One-Two-GO Airlines had operated the following aircraft:[14]

The airline was in negotiations to purchase several used MD-80s aircraft for expansion.[15] This never happened.

Incidents and accidents
The wreckage of McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) HS-OMG.

On 16 September 2007, One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (registered as HS-OMG) flying from Bangkok with 123 passengers and seven crew members, crashed in strong winds and heavy rain after attempting to land at Phuket International Airport. The aircraft was mostly destroyed in the blazing inferno[16] that soon developed after the crash as the fuselage tore in two. 90 people were killed,[17] including 5 of the crew members.[18] 45 of the dead were tourists.[19] In addition to the 90 dead, 26 people were "seriously injured" and 14 "suffered minor injuries".[20] Thai aviation officials initially claimed that weather was a probable factor.[21][22][23] The cause of the crash was later determined to be multiple flight crew errors caused by systemic failures including corruption and lack of training at One-Two-GO and within Thailand's Civil Aviation Authority, Department of Civil Aviation.[24] "An Australian television show" says that One-Two-GO violated safety rules, such as by having pilots fly without getting enough rest, and submitted fake documentation to hide it.[23]

References
  1. "STATUS OF THE INQUIRY INTO THE ACCIDENT OF ONE TWO GO AIRLINES FLIGHT OG 269." (Archive) Royal Thai Embassy of Singapore. Retrieved on 6 April 2013.
  2. "Contact Us Archived 2010-02-02 at the Wayback Machine." One-Two-GO Airlines. Retrieved on 4 March 2010.
  3. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-10. p. 59.
  4. "ปิดฉาก "วันทูโก"" [Concluded "One to Go"]. Positioning Magazine (in Thai). 2008-08-05. Archived from the original on 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  5. "ศาลฝรั่งเศสไต่สวนคดีญาติเหยื่อ 'วันทูโก' ฟ้องอดีตประธานสายการบินฐาน 'ฆ่าคนตาย'" [French court investigates relative of 'One Two Go' victim suing former airline chairman 'kill man']. mgronline.com (in Thai). 2019-06-24. Archived from the original on 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  6. "EU Bans Thai, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Benin Airlines From EU". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  7. "EUROPA - Press Releases - Commission updates the list of airlines banned from European airspace". Europa.eu. 2009-04-08. Archived from the original on 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  8. "Cut Price Safety". Australian Channel 9. 2007. Archived from the original (mp4) on 2012-03-27. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  9. "Families Blame Lax Safety for Budget Airline Crash". The Sunday Times. 2008-07-20. Archived from the original on 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  10. "One-Two-Go Airlines Flight OG269, HS-OMG September 16, 2007, Phuket, Thailand" (PDF). NTSB/Dca07Ra063. National Transportation Safety Board. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  11. "Deceased v. One-Two-GO Airlines, Orient Thai Airlines" (PDF). US District Court Southern District of Florida Miami Division 08-22558-CIV-MOORE/SIMONTON: 57. 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  12. Blake, Heidi (22 March 2011). "Thai airline 'covered up failings behind crash which killed 90'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  13. Fisher, S.P.G. (2011). "HM Coroner's Summary into the 8 Inquests of an Air Accident that Occurred on the One-Two-GO Airlines" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. "One-Two-Go Fleet". Ch-aviation.ch. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  15. "One-Two-Go to purchase ex-JAL MD-80's". Flightglobal.com. 2007-07-12. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  16. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) HS-OMG Phuket International Airport (HKT)". Aviation Safety Network. Alexandria, Virginia: Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  17. "Today in History". AP News. 2017-09-16. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28.
  18. "Crash of a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 in Phuket: 90 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28.
  19. "Scores killed in Thai plane crash". BBC News. 16 September 2007. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  20. AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, THAILAND. "AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT FINAL REPORT, ONE TWO GO AIRLINES COMPANY LIMITED, MCDONNELL DOUGLAS DC-9-82 (MD-82), HS-OMG, PHUKET INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, THAILAND, 16.SEPTEMBER 2007". Available via Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives and Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. {{cite web}}: External link in |postscript= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  21. Watts, Jonathan (September 17, 2007). "Survivors angry that pilot tried to land plane in monsoon storm". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  22. "Crash airline has history of safety doubts". The Australian. Archived from the original on 2007-09-19.
  23. Finlay, Mark (2021-09-15). "What Happened To Thai Low-Cost Carrier One-Two-Go Airlines?". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  24. "ONE-TWO-GO AIRLINES Pilot error blamed for crash". Bangkok Post. 2008-07-21. Retrieved 2008-07-21.

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