Horneytorney Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 Cambodian troops 'fire at passenger jet': Thai army (AFP) – 1 day ago BANGKOK — Cambodian troops fired shots at a passenger aircraft flying near the country's disputed border with Thailand, believing it to be a spy plane, the Thai army said Thursday. "The Cambodian military fired because there was a Thai passenger plane -- Bangkok Airways -- which could not land at Siem Reap airport because of bad weather," said deputy army spokesman Colonel Sirichan Ngathong. "It was misunderstood by Cambodia to be spy plane," he said, adding that no one was hurt in the incident near the northern Cambodian tourist destination of Siem Reap. Cambodian military at the border -- the site of deadly territorial clashes between the neighbouring countries last year -- confirmed troops had opened fire at an aircraft. "It was dark so we could not see what type of plane it was. But it was circling many times and then our soldiers fired 18 shots from a machine gun, but it missed the plane because it was flying very high," Commander Seng Phearin told AFP. "I think a passenger plane would not fly around the border. We suspected it was a spy plane, so we fired to defend our airspace," he said, adding the aircraft had been around 10 kilometres (six miles) inside Cambodia. He said the incident happened at 19:00 local time (1200GMT) on Wednesday, although the Thai authorities said it occurred Thursday morning. AFP was unable to immediately contact Bangkok Airways. Cambodia and Thailand traded heavy arms fire over a disputed border in early 2011 under the previous Thai government, but ties have warmed significantly since Yingluck Shinawatra took power in Thailand. Yingluck, whose brother Thaksin has remained close to Phnom Penh strongman Hun Sen since being deposed from power in a 2006 coup, is due to meet the Cambodian leader for talks in Siem Reap on Friday. The meeting will be on the sidelines of the largest ever gathering of American businesses in Asia hosted by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and attended by a score of regional dignitaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 And Cambodia has just refused to join the rest of the ASEAN countries in a joint proposal to try to east the conflict over China's claim to the entire Pacific Ocean. ASEAN is pissed off at Wun Sen for sticking up for the Chinese. Interesting to see this AFP report, since the Thai press earlier carried repeated denials by Cambodia that its troops had fired on the plane. I also doubt that only 18 rounds were fired. Tracers are normally loaded as every 5th round. If only 18 rounds were fired, there would have been no more than 3 tracer rounds - probably not enough to attract the pilot's attention. Not to mention that a spy plane was hardly going to be flying with its navigation or landing lights on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo_bill Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 Bangkok Airways Jet Nearly Shot Down by Horneytorney This is how it appeared under Recent Topics added - and I have to admit that I have been awaiting a long time Horneytorney opening fire at passenger jets . What did he throw at that plane ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 And Cambodia has just refused to join the rest of the ASEAN countries in a joint proposal to try to east the conflict over China's claim to the entire Pacific Ocean. ASEAN is pissed off at Wun Sen for sticking up for the Chinese. Interesting to see this AFP report, since the Thai press earlier carried repeated denials by Cambodia that its troops had fired on the plane. I also doubt that only 18 rounds were fired. Tracers are normally loaded as every 5th round. If only 18 rounds were fired, there would have been no more than 3 tracer rounds - probably not enough to attract the pilot's attention. Not to mention that a spy plane was hardly going to be flying with its navigation or landing lights on. I can only imagine how incensed they must be with Hun Sen if they so pissed off with this Wun Sen fellow ! Clearly, he's one bad egg. From memory, he runs a noodle stall over near the Predesidential Palace, but you know Khmer men - seen Wun and you've seen 'em all ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 Phnom Penh denies shooting at Thai plane Cambodia has officially denied firing at a Thai passenger aircraft despite a senior officer having confirmed the shooting. Defence Minister ACM Sukumpol Suwanatat said yesterday the armed forces had asked Cambodian officials to confirm a media report that their soldiers fired at a Bangkok Airways aircraft that was unable to land at Siem Reap airport because of bad weather on Wednesday night. "Cambodia denied the report," the minister said. "When they insisted they didn't open fire and since our plane was not damaged, there is nothing more to say," the defence minister said. He said it would be difficult to find evidence to back the allegation because there was no damage to the plane. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday she had also tried verifying the report with both the Thai and Cambodian armed forces, as well as with local authorities, but they all denied the alleged incident took place. Even Bangkok Airways has confirmed there was no shooting, Ms Yingluck added. Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said Cambodian deputy defence minister Nieng Pad has also told the Thai ambassador to Cambodia that there was no gunfire. However, a Cambodia unit commander, Col Seng Phearin, insisted on Thursday the incident did take place. "It was dark so we could not see what type of plane it was. But it was circling many times and then our soldiers fired 18 shots from a machine gun, but it missed the plane because it was flying very high," he told reporters. Meanwhile, aviation experts including veteran pilots said Thai and international airlines should suspend flights to Cambodia because of the serious safety threat reportedly posed by Cambodian soldiers. They said the suspension of air services is necessary until the issue is clarified and resolved. International and Thai civil aviation authorities need to respond quickly to deal with this alleged "outrageous" action by Cambodian soldiers. If they don't they could be putting passengers and aircraft at extreme risk, they told the Bangkok Post on condition of anonymity. If the reported incident is true and they fired because they "thought the aircraft was as spy plane", this would be a breach of international practice - that the identity and mission of the aircraft is requested and a warning to the pilots is issued first. "No shots should be fired until it is absolutely clear what they are dealing with," said a veteran Thai pilot with 36 years of flying experience around the world. "Like we see in Hollywood movies, if they are unsure of what is up there they should send up a jet fighter to intercept the aircraft and order the pilots to land or risk being shot down," he explained. The reasons the Cambodian troops gave in the report for opening fire on the Thai passenger plane were called into question on other grounds as well. First, although there are tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, they are not technically at war and existing strained relations do not warrant harsh and immediate military action such as shooting at an aircraft. Also it is unclear whether the skies where the Bangkok Airways plane was circling while awaiting clearance to land at Siem Reap airport is a "restricted zone". Bad weather or not, Thai pilots who fly this route would have known this in the first place. If the incident is true or if the officer maintains the incident is true, then the Thai government should not allow the issue to rest without lodging a strong protest with Phnom Penh. "If I were the owner of Bangkok Airways, I would not hesitate in suspending flights to Cambodia until the whole issue is resolved," another senior Thai pilot said. He added that he would refuse to fly an aircraft to Cambodia if he was asked to do so today. "In aviation, we never compromise on safety," he added. Bangkok Airways executives could not be reached for comment yesterday, but an airline official last night said the airline's scheduled services from Bangkok to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, and whose passengers are mostly foreigners, remain unchanged. My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallenda Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 Kind of a misleading headline. How high could a machine gun fire straight up into the air? Even if it could reach the flight's altitude, coming from a machine gun that would be one mighty lucky shot. And then what. A bullet or even a few could shoot down an airliner? This story kind of tells you all you need to konw about all the characters involved. Cambodian military just makes on-the-fly decisions to fire on aircraft using whatever means are at hand. No need to check with commanders. Once the story hits the press, the Cambodian and Thai PM's figure the way to best deal with this politically inconvenient issue is to just deny it happened, regardless how implausible that seems. But that's Hun Sen's entire career in a nutshell, it's also his war crimes policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 At altitude, I agree that its extremely unlikely that small arms fire could do any damage - lower down, the risk is obvious - cabin decompression. Either way, I dont want to be sitting on a plane with idiots shooting at the fuselage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted July 15, 2012 Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Maybe the Cambodians didn't shoot at the jet.... maybe it was a Thai? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horneytorney Posted July 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Maybe the Cambodians didn't shoot at the jet.... maybe it was a Thai? which color had his shirt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 17, 2012 Report Share Posted July 17, 2012 More nighttime flights tipped Authorities are trying to reschedule flights to relieve congestion at Suvarnabhumi airport as it enters the second phase of its expansion, which is expected to be completed in five years. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra discussed congestion problems at Suvarnabhumi with officials yesterday. She said officials would try to decrease the number of day flights and increase night flights. At the moment, there are more flights in the daytime, when the airport is more vulnerable to congestion. ... Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan, who attended the meeting, said the prime minister inquired about the progress of runway repairs being carried out at Suvarnabhumi. The AoT reported a 1.62km section of the eastern runway is being repaired. Half the repaired section is scheduled to be reopened tomorrow and the rest by the end of this month. ... My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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