A number of the people following this thread have commented to me on the tough manner in which I have pressed responsibility for the crash on First Officer Montri.
I thought I would share my reasoning for emphasizing Montri's failures:
- Arief was the captain and chief pilot. He was flying over hours and clearly continued to have issues flying an aircraft no matter his hours. Additionally, he was fasting for Ramadan. While it is terrible and unconscionable that he did not stop himself from flying, this is a known limitation of human nature and one of the many reasons aviation has so much redundancy. It was Udom's and the DCA's responsibility to ground him. They did not. The fact that Arief was Captain of that aircraft is the failure of Udom, Orient Thai, the DCA and Arief.
- Montri was an inexperienced First Officer and the flying pilot. He was over hours, under-trained and had been provided no education in the importance of safety in aviation. Montri was personally responsible for flying over hours. Udom, Orient Thai and the DCA are responsible for the fact that Montri was over hours, under-trainied and flying without the necessary understanding of safety.
- (To my understanding) in western commercial aviation, no one of Montri's skills or experience would be the flying pilot. Montri's inexperience, lack of skill and panic at the time when the aircraft was still rescue-able drives home the point that there are major differences in skill level and experience between the pilots of Orient Thai operated aircraft and international standards. A western First Officer would have had the skills to handle the situation. The fact that Montri could have been in a situation of flying that aircraft with passengers in a storm is a major failure of Orient Thai, Udom the DCA to have basic redundancy in their aviation systems.
- Finally, the DCA has clearly been looking to put blame on anyone who isn't Thai. They tried to fault the NTSB. They tried to say it was wind sheer. Now they are saying "pilot error" without providing any details. Arief, an Indonesian, was a non-factor in the moment. Where as Montri - the Thai backup pilot - was flying the aircraft and doomed it. IMO, to address the truth and ensure proper accountability and future safety in Thailand, Thai people must accept the fact that a Thai person made terrible mistakes in the moment (in addition to flying over hours). Once this fact is digested, Thailand can move forward to true accountability by asking themselves how Montri was able to be in such as situation.
The fact that Arief and Montri were able to be in that aircraft as pilots exposed major systemic failures and willful actions by significant Thai authorities figures: Udom Tantiprasongchai, other members of Orient Thai's management and the Thai DCA including Vitichai.
(By all accounts, Montri was a very decent man, cared for and loved by his family, friends and co-workers and was one of the better Orient Thai First Officers. Nothing should or can take away from that.)