Singapore's airport closes for 1 hr as F16 jets intercept plane
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AVIATION / UNAUTHORISED FLIGHT FROM KOH SAMUI
Plane that panicked S'pore piloted by Aussie
[SIZE=-1]AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK and dpa[/SIZE]
The plane from Koh Samui which intruded into Singapore airspace on Tuesday causing a 50-
minute shutdown of Changi airport was piloted by an Australian, Civil Aviation Department director general Chaisak Angsuwan said yesterday.
Mr Chaisak said the amphibious plane, a Cessna 208 Caravan 1, was piloted by Australian Rhys Henry Thomas, 48, a former pilot with Australian airline Ansett.
The plane was bought this month by Mary Cummins, who co-owns a tourist adventure flight firm with Mr Thomas. On Tuesday, Mr Thomas filed a flight plan with the air traffic control (ATC) at Koh Samui, saying he would test the plane by flying it around the island.
He took off about 2pm. At 2.30pm, Mr Thomas radioed that the engine had developed problems.
Six minutes later air traffic control lost contact with the plane, which disappeared from radar. The plane was spotted again at a height of 32,000 feet over the Thai-Malaysian border.
Although air controllers told the pilot the plane was leaving Thai airspace, he continued on his flight path, heading to Singapore without heeding their the ATC's warnings against intruding into Singapore airspace.
Air traffic controllers at Koh Samui reported to ATC in Malaysia about the airspace intrusion and the deputy director-general of the department Wuttichai Singhamas, who was on an official trip to Singapore, cooperated with Singapore officials in the plane's interception.
Mr Chaisak said he had sent a letter to the Australian and Singaporean embassies and the Foreign Ministry explaining the pilot violated Thailand's aviation laws.
According to the Straits Times newspaper, two Australians were aboard the plane, which approached Singapore on Tuesday night without an approved flight plan, prompting two Singapore Air Force F16 fighter jets to scramble during Changi airport's busiest period.
The Singapore Air Force tracked the plane as it flew toward the city state. The two missile-armed fighters intercepted the Caravan and signalled the Australians to land on the central runway at 8pm.
The Australians were escorted away by police, who are now investigating the incident. The shutdown of commercial airspace affected 23 aircraft, disrupting flights in and out of Changi.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/25Jan2008_news99.php
Plane that panicked S'pore piloted by Aussie
[SIZE=-1]AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK and dpa[/SIZE]
The plane from Koh Samui which intruded into Singapore airspace on Tuesday causing a 50-
minute shutdown of Changi airport was piloted by an Australian, Civil Aviation Department director general Chaisak Angsuwan said yesterday.
Mr Chaisak said the amphibious plane, a Cessna 208 Caravan 1, was piloted by Australian Rhys Henry Thomas, 48, a former pilot with Australian airline Ansett.
The plane was bought this month by Mary Cummins, who co-owns a tourist adventure flight firm with Mr Thomas. On Tuesday, Mr Thomas filed a flight plan with the air traffic control (ATC) at Koh Samui, saying he would test the plane by flying it around the island.
He took off about 2pm. At 2.30pm, Mr Thomas radioed that the engine had developed problems.
Six minutes later air traffic control lost contact with the plane, which disappeared from radar. The plane was spotted again at a height of 32,000 feet over the Thai-Malaysian border.
Although air controllers told the pilot the plane was leaving Thai airspace, he continued on his flight path, heading to Singapore without heeding their the ATC's warnings against intruding into Singapore airspace.
Air traffic controllers at Koh Samui reported to ATC in Malaysia about the airspace intrusion and the deputy director-general of the department Wuttichai Singhamas, who was on an official trip to Singapore, cooperated with Singapore officials in the plane's interception.
Mr Chaisak said he had sent a letter to the Australian and Singaporean embassies and the Foreign Ministry explaining the pilot violated Thailand's aviation laws.
According to the Straits Times newspaper, two Australians were aboard the plane, which approached Singapore on Tuesday night without an approved flight plan, prompting two Singapore Air Force F16 fighter jets to scramble during Changi airport's busiest period.
The Singapore Air Force tracked the plane as it flew toward the city state. The two missile-armed fighters intercepted the Caravan and signalled the Australians to land on the central runway at 8pm.
The Australians were escorted away by police, who are now investigating the incident. The shutdown of commercial airspace affected 23 aircraft, disrupting flights in and out of Changi.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/25Jan2008_news99.php
i think those idiots just wanna go for a joyflight. the former airline pilot should know better than ignoring ATC's warning. man, what happened to all the training he had received? what a dumb-ass...
surprisingly, the Malaysian Air Force did not send their SU-27s to intercept the Cessna. either they simply bo-chap or the Cessna flew over international waters on-route to Singapore.
Wow, the best part is that after declaring plane having engine problem, is not to try to land safely ASAP, but to fly around 1000km down to Singapore while ignoring all the air strips in Southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. Quite an amazing feat.:bsmilie: Wonder what is their explanation to the investigators.
Hahahhaaa. :bsmilie: :bsmilie: :bsmilie:. Really the SUs were grounded due to lack of maintenance?
Can anyone tell me the distance between Koh Samui and Singapore in terms of nautical miles and a plane having ENGINE PROBLEMS would fly straight over countless airfields without bothering to stop but instead take such a long way into Singapore Airspace and force us to scramble? Wad are they thinking? Testing our flyboys?
They are lucky we din shoot them down to hell there and then.
They are lucky we din shoot them down to hell there and then.
Can anyone tell me the distance between Koh Samui and Singapore in terms of nautical miles and a plane having ENGINE PROBLEMS would fly straight over countless airfields without bothering to stop but instead take such a long way into Singapore Airspace and force us to scramble? Wad are they thinking? Testing our flyboys?
They are lucky we din shoot them down to hell there and then.
They are lucky we din shoot them down to hell there and then.
Can anyone tell me the distance between Koh Samui and Singapore in terms of nautical miles and a plane having ENGINE PROBLEMS would fly straight over countless airfields without bothering to stop but instead take such a long way into Singapore Airspace and force us to scramble? Wad are they thinking? Testing our flyboys?
They are lucky we din shoot them down to hell there and then.
They are lucky we din shoot them down to hell there and then.
the radarmen below the flight path from Koh Samui to here were "Zzzz Zzzz" :bsmilie: or maybe having canteen break
It is not reflective of true war scenario.
The little propeller plane was spotted very long ago. Since as early as in Thai airspace, must have been many hours ago. Given the slow speed of propeller planes. It was spotted by the Thai and then Malaysian ATC. This message was then likely passed to Sing ATC.
So they had many hours of forward notice.
Dunno what "scramble" they are talking about.
Scramble is when your got enemy jets fast approaching at > Mach 1 unannounced beforehand and within a few minutes or seconds they are upon you over Sing.
A slow moving propeller civilian plane already spotted by 2 other countries' ATC hours ago? What scramble?
The effect of 2 F16s rushing to meet a slow moving propeller civilian plane is analogous to High Speed gunboats being mobilised to meet a one man small wooden sampan rowed by an elderly fisherman, the sampan being spotted hours ago through long range binoculars.
I really don't understand "scramble" in this case. They knew HOURS ago. And dunno why we are congratulating RSAF. It's a cake walk they can do blindfolded.
It is different if they scrambled to take on heavily armed enemy jets at less than a minute's notice and in a dogfight, shot down the enemy planes without any loss on our side.
The little propeller plane was spotted very long ago. Since as early as in Thai airspace, must have been many hours ago. Given the slow speed of propeller planes. It was spotted by the Thai and then Malaysian ATC. This message was then likely passed to Sing ATC.
So they had many hours of forward notice.
Dunno what "scramble" they are talking about.
Scramble is when your got enemy jets fast approaching at > Mach 1 unannounced beforehand and within a few minutes or seconds they are upon you over Sing.
A slow moving propeller civilian plane already spotted by 2 other countries' ATC hours ago? What scramble?
The effect of 2 F16s rushing to meet a slow moving propeller civilian plane is analogous to High Speed gunboats being mobilised to meet a one man small wooden sampan rowed by an elderly fisherman, the sampan being spotted hours ago through long range binoculars.
I really don't understand "scramble" in this case. They knew HOURS ago. And dunno why we are congratulating RSAF. It's a cake walk they can do blindfolded.
It is different if they scrambled to take on heavily armed enemy jets at less than a minute's notice and in a dogfight, shot down the enemy planes without any loss on our side.
i can imagine all the standby AA crew getting activated 
those were the days of my NS... :embrass:
those were the days of my NS... :embrass:
The Star
Saturday January 26, 2008
MYT 6:07:43 PM
Civilian plane was no defence threat
By NG CHENG YEE
PETALING JAYA: The civilian plane which flew by Kota Baru and caused the shutdown of Singapore's commercial airspace for 50 minutes on Tuesday, was no threat to Malaysia's defence.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said that was the reason the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) had allowed the plane from the Thai resort island of Koh Samui to enter Malaysian airspace.
"It was just a small plane and we had confirmed that it was no threat to the country's defence," he said after attending the memorial service of Prof Dr Wolfgang Franke here on Saturday.
He said the DCA immediately informed its Singaporean counterpart after getting information from the Thai DCA that the plane was having some problems and needed to be repaired in the island-nation.
It was reported that Singapore scrambled two F-16 fighters to intercept the aircraft, which was illegally heading towards the city-state's airspace.
The incident caused disruption of flights in and out of Changi after it sparked a major security alert.
Saturday January 26, 2008
MYT 6:07:43 PM
Civilian plane was no defence threat
By NG CHENG YEE
PETALING JAYA: The civilian plane which flew by Kota Baru and caused the shutdown of Singapore's commercial airspace for 50 minutes on Tuesday, was no threat to Malaysia's defence.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said that was the reason the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) had allowed the plane from the Thai resort island of Koh Samui to enter Malaysian airspace.
"It was just a small plane and we had confirmed that it was no threat to the country's defence," he said after attending the memorial service of Prof Dr Wolfgang Franke here on Saturday.
He said the DCA immediately informed its Singaporean counterpart after getting information from the Thai DCA that the plane was having some problems and needed to be repaired in the island-nation.
It was reported that Singapore scrambled two F-16 fighters to intercept the aircraft, which was illegally heading towards the city-state's airspace.
The incident caused disruption of flights in and out of Changi after it sparked a major security alert.
He is just saying that that particular plane was no threat. No need to make this bigger than it is. Too many people in here like to fantasize. :bsmilie:
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