Three people were killed after a small aircraft belonging to the International Aviation College crashed into a rice field in northeast province of Nakhon Phanom this morning.
Only 30 seconds after the DA42 training aircraft took off at Nakhon Phanom airport about 5am, the pilot reported an engine was on fire and requested permission to make an emergency landing before he lost contact with the control tower.
Tragically, the plane crashed into a rice field just two kilometers from the airport, killing all three people on board.
The deceased were identified as Pol. Lt. Col. Somboon Khamnuengratanawongsa, 62, the chief training instructor at the school, acting Sub-Lt. Chinawut Nualklab, 36, the pilot, and Yingyos Udornpim, 54, chairman of the Farmers Rehabilitation and Development Fund and former president of the Maha Sarakham provincial administration.
Yingyos was on the flight because he was supposed to attend an urgent meeting in Bangkok, he was the reason for the flight, according to Nakhon Phanom governor Somchai Witdamrong.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash, Bangkok Post reported.
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