| International Herald Tribune
April 13, 2001 The Thai Airways International plane, which was nine years old, exploded
at a gate at Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok on March 3 in what
was initially believed to be sabotage. The prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra,
had been due to fly on the plane, and Thai authorities said they had found
traces of high explosives. But the safety board, which is involved in the
investigation because the plane was made by an American company, said Wednesday
that the FBI had found no traces of explosives. The explosion was in the
center-wing fuel tank, a structure on the 737 and the 747 inside the fuselage,
where the wings come together. On both models, the tank is above heat exchangers
that the air-conditioning system uses to take heat out of the cabin. The
weather in Bangkok was very hot, and the air conditioners had been running
for about 40 minutes.
Commentary by Mike Hull: So now we have two different models of Boeing aircraft, both testing positive for high explosives after an explosion, yet miraculously according to the FBI/NTSB scenario both suffered from some unknown ignition problem in overheated center wing fuel tanks. The explanation last time was that TWA 800 was ''old" and therefore had 'bad wiring'. The Thai aircraft was nine years old! Home - Last Updated:
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