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One of six ATR-72 aircraft operated by Lao Airlines
| |
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 16 October 2013 |
| Summary | Under investigation |
| Site | Done Kho Island, Mekong River,Pakse, Laos 15°09′06″N 105°43′59″ECoordinates: 15°09′06″N 105°43′59″E |
| Passengers | 44 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 49 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | ATR 72-600 |
| Operator | Lao Airlines |
| Registration | RDPL-34233 |
| Flight origin | Wattay International Airport,Vientiane, Laos |
| Destination | Pakse International Airport, Laos |
Lao Airlines Flight 301 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Vientiane to Pakse, Laos. On 16 October 2013, the ATR 72-600 aircraft operating the flight crashed into the Mekong River in Pakse; all 49 people on board died.
Contents
[hide]Aircraft[edit]
The aircraft involved was an ATR 72-600, registration RDPL-34233, serial number 1071, with an accumulated 758 hours of flight. It was delivered toLao Airlines on 29 March 2013.[1][2]
Accident[edit]
The aircraft was operating a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Wattay International Airport, Vientiane to Pakse International Airport, Pakse, Laos.[2][3] The flight departed from Vientiane at 14:45 local time (07:45 UTC) and crashed into the Mekong River at 15:55 local time (08:55 UTC) while approaching Pakse for the second time, less than 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the airport.[4][5][6] The aircraft had already gone around once due to poor weather and was in the downwind leg for another approach when the aircraft impacted the nearby river.[3]
There were five crew and 44 passengers on board, all of whom are presumed to have died upon impact.[7] Marks on the ground indicated that the aircraft landed heavily on the ground before entering the Mekong.[8] The weather was reported to be poor at the time of the accident due to the remnants of Typhoon Nari affecting southern Laos.[3][9]
Recovery of the victims and wreckage was hampered by the fast-flowing, deep waters of the Mekong. To assist with the search, 50 divers from Thailand were brought in.[1] Eighteen of the victims had been recovered as of 18 October.[10] By 23 October, 44 of the 49 victims had been recovered. Identification had been confirmed for 27 of them.[11] Some of the victims were found 19 kilometres (12 mi) downstream of the crash site.[8]
The accident, the first involving the ATR 72-600,[12] was the deadliest ever to occur on Laotian soil and also the deadliest ever for the airline since it was founded in 1976.[13][14][15] It was the first fatal crash on a Lao Airlines flight since 19 October 2000.[16]
Investigation[edit]
The Laotian Department of Civil Aviation opened an investigation into the accident.[1] The aircraft's manufacturer ATR and the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) are assisting them.[3] The BEA sent four investigators to Laos.[17]
The wreckage of the aircraft was lifted from the Mekong on 22 October. Both the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder were recovered from the Mekong.[11]
Passengers and crew[edit]
The victims were of eleven nationalities. Of the 44 passengers on board, 16 were Laotian,[7] as were four of the five crew. The pilot was aCambodian national.[8][9] The remaining casualties consisted of seven French nationals, six Australians, five Thais, three South Koreans, threeVietnamese, and one each from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and the United States.[4][8][18][19][20][21] At least two children, both from Australia, were among the dead.[7] Early reports that a Canadian was on board were incorrect, since it was later determined that the individual was a Vietnamese national.[22]
| Country | Passengers | Crew | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
 Laos | 16 | 4 | 20 |
 France | 7 | – | 7 |
 Australia | 6 | – | 6 |
 Thailand | 5 | – | 5 |
 South Korea | 3 | – | 3 |
 Vietnam | 3 | – | 3 |
 Cambodia | – | 1 | 1 |
 China | 1 | – | 1 |
 Malaysia | 1 | – | 1 |
 Taiwan | 1 | – | 1 |
 United States | 1 | – | 1 |
| Total | 44 | 5 | 49 |
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