THE Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT) today (July 26) transferred the director of Don Mueang Airport to the head office after a female passenger’s left leg was severed till the knee upon being swallowed by a moving walkway on June 29, Matichon newspaper said.
The director, Mr. Karun Thanakuljeerapat, will now assume the position of a consultant the head office while Mr. Wichit Kaewsaithiam, the director of Chiang Mai Airport, replaces him at Don Mueang.
AOT’s board of directors also approved the appointment and transfer of 68 employees of levels 10-11 and 9 with this being gradually implemented during August 1-October 1 to ensure smooth and efficient operation of its airports.
At around 8.30 a.m. on June 29 the unidentified 57-year-old female passenger who was travelling to Nakhon Si Thammarat was proceeding through the Southern Corridor between piers 4-5 in Terminal 2 when hit by the accident.
Dr. Weerachai Phutdhawong, a professor at Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said in a Facebook post that a meeting was held about this incident at Don Mueang Airport and in a nutshell a conclusion was reached that it was an accident.
Of the four bolts meant to hold down the plate at the end of the travelator, those in A, B and C positions were loose with only the one in D position keeping it in place. Despite the plate dangling in this manner it took 10 seconds before the safety switch stopped the moving walkway.
As the travelator continued trying to push forward for 10 seconds after the passenger’s leg got trapped the limb was then pushed down to position E were it was severed after hitting the one-centimetre-thick metal edge.
The yellow combs were not involved in the accident but even if they were not installed there should not be the possibility of a leg being swallowed in this manner, he said.
CAPTION:
An image of transferred Don Mueang Airport director Karun Thanakuljeerapat inset on a photo of the moving walkway that severed a woman’s leg last month. Photo: Matichon
Also read: Yet again – shopper’s slipper gets stuck in store escalator
Not the first time – airport moving walkway devoured passenger’s sandal in 2019
Passenger’s leg severed by moving walkway at Don Mueang Airport
Austrian woman seriously injured after falling at Suvarnabhumi Airport
Indian smuggler nabbed at airport with cowhide, boar tusks
Thai woman caught smuggling cocaine at Phuket Airport
Plane returns to Phuket Airport after extra passenger found on board
4 workers injured after gas cylinder explodes at hotel
