PHUKET: Two people were killed and two seriously injured when a small training plane crashed in a rubber plantation in Thalang district yesterday morning.
The cause of the crash is unknown.
The plane, with four on board, went down opposite a welfare home for the elderly in tambon Pha Khok, said Pol Capt Natthee Pichitchainimitmet, a duty officer at the Thalang police station, who was alerted to the crash at 11am yesterday.
Police and rescue workers who rushed to the scene found the wreckage of the small craft with two people dead inside -- one of them the pilot -- and two others badly hurt. The injured were sent to Vachira Hospital.
The dead victims were later identified as pilot Wattana Thinphang-nga and Flying Officer Narin Thaweewat, who was a teacher at Thalang Technical College.
The injured, a man called Adol Samae and a woman named Orawan Chindarat, were students from the college, Thai media reported.
A police investigation found that the plane took off at about 10.30am from a small private airfield. The Butterfly 05 (HS-PMS) light aircraft bore the logo and name of the Siam Aviation Association.
Phuket police commander Teerapol Thipjaroen said investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash. From an initial examination, officers suspected windy weather was a factor.
