Bangkok Airways Flight 266
Bangkok Airways Flight 266 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Krabi Airport to Samui Airport, Thailand. On 4 August 2009, the aircraft skidded off the runway on landing and crashed into an old and unmanned control tower. One pilot died and 41 other people were injured.
Accident
The aircraft is reported to have skidded off the runway and hit an old, unmanned control tower that was used as a fire-fighting station. The accident happened at around 14:15 local time. One pilot was reported to have been killed. The co-pilot, who was stuck in the aircraft for more than two hours, was among the last evacuated from the stricken plane. Serious injuries included four passengers – two British, one Italian and one Swiss suffered broken legs, while two other British suffered less severe injuries. The co-pilot also had leg injuries.A total of 41 people were injured. The METAR in force at the time of the accident was METAR VTSM 040700Z 29015KT 9000 FEW020TCU SCT120 BKN300 31/25 Q1007 A2974 TCU-NW. This translates as METAR for Samui Airport, issued on the 4th of the month at 07:00 UTC, wind at, direction 290° visibility, few clouds at, scattered clouds at, broken clouds at, temperature, dewpoint, altimeter 1007 milibar, towering cumulonimbus to north west.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee of Thailand released the final report on 30 September 2025. According to the final report, this accident was caused by "the weather conditions at Samui International Airport when the aircraft was landing, with a surface wind direction 300 degrees and gusts between 25 and 35 knots, combined with the pilot did not go around when conducting a non-stabilized approach."