Investigation Summary
The flight was a routine domestic service from Yangon to Tachileik, a town on the border with Thailand. During the descent, the crew reported poor visibility to air traffic controllers at least twice. The aircraft failed to arrive at its scheduled time of approximately 10:30 UTC, prompting a cross-border search operation involving Thai authorities. For several days, the fate of the flight was obscured by misinformation; Myanmar officials initially claimed the plane had landed safely at an old airfield in Laos and that everyone was unharmed. This was later refuted by the Laotian government. The wreckage was finally located on August 28, 1998, in Myanmar territory. The investigation determined the aircraft had struck a hill approximately 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) from the airport while attempting to land in adverse weather.
Final Conclusions
The accident was classified as a Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT). The primary contributing factors were poor visibility at the destination airport and the crew's decision to continue the approach below safe altitudes in mountainous terrain. The confusion regarding the crash site and the initial false reports of a safe landing in Laos delayed the recovery of the victims.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Systems & Failure Modes
Visual Reference
The crew was attempting to land in conditions of poor visibility, leading to a loss of situational awareness regarding terrain.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was a Fokker F-27 Friendship 600, registration XY-AEN.
- 02All 39 people on board, including 36 passengers and 3 infants, perished in the crash.
- 03The majority of the passengers were members of the Myanmar military and their families.
- 04The wreckage was found approximately 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) from Tachileik Airport.
- 05Initial reports from the Bangkok Post alleged that some survivors were killed by local villagers, though this remains a point of significant controversy.
Known Controversies & Unanswered Questions
Allegations of Post-Crash Violence
Reference ↗The Bangkok Post reported that several individuals survived the initial impact but were subsequently killed by ethnic Shan villagers. The report alleged that female survivors were assaulted and male military personnel were tortured. Myanmar authorities questioned 14 villagers, but these accounts were not officially corroborated in the final accident summary.