Investigation Summary
The accident occurred in good weather conditions but involved a high-stress sequencing conflict between two Boeing 737s. Dragonair Flight 203 was ahead and lower than Thai 365, but the Thai crew believed the Dragonair pilots were making false reports to 'steal' landing priority. To counter this, the Thai crew reported they were at 8 miles DME when they were actually further out. This led the controller to grant Thai 365 priority. However, the resulting confusion and a warning from the Dragonair captain about a potential collision caused the Thai pilots to lose focus on their own flight parameters. As they slowed to avoid the other aircraft, their speed dropped to 163 knots, triggering the stick shaker. The captain's attempt to recover by adding power and retracting the gear was insufficient to prevent the aircraft from impacting the water.
Final Conclusions
The investigation concluded that the primary cause was the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while distracted by traffic sequencing. Contributing factors included the air traffic controller's failure to maintain proper separation between the two aircraft and the Thai crew's decision to provide an inaccurate position report to gain landing priority.
Video Analysis
How One Controller's Mistake Doomed 83 Lives — A detailed look at the 1987 crash of Thai Airways Flight 365, where a routine approach turned deadly due to traffic confusion and a low-altitude stall.
Watch on YouTube ↗If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Systems & Failure Modes
Stick Shaker
A mechanical device that rapidly vibrates the control yoke to warn the pilots of an impending aerodynamic stall.
VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR)
A short-range radio navigation system used by the crew to determine their position relative to the Phuket airport.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was 7 years old with 16,963 flying hours at the time of the accident.
- 02The captain was highly experienced with 19,538 total flight hours, including 5,576 hours on the Boeing 737.
- 03The first officer had only 156 hours of experience on the Boeing 737.
- 04The crash site was in water approximately 20 meters deep.
- 05It was the deadliest aviation accident in Thailand until the 1991 crash of Lauda Air Flight 004.
Safety Actions & Advisories
ATC Training Improvements
Following the accident, Thailand reviewed air traffic control procedures at Phuket to ensure better separation of arriving aircraft and more rigorous verification of pilot position reports.