Foreign Office In Contact With Burmese Authorities

Aviation lawyers are demanding a prompt and comprehensive air accident investigation to determine what caused a plane crash in eastern Burma which led to the deaths of two people and left eleven others, including a Briton and Americans, injured.

Around 60 passengers were thought to be on board the Fokker 100 aircraft operated by Air Bagan travelling from Mandalay-Annisaton Airport which crashed shortly before it was due to land at Heho Airport on Christmas Day (December 25th).

One passenger was found dead inside the plane, while a motorcyclist riding on the road where the plane came down was also killed. A number of people are thought to have been injured, including a British man believed to have been onboard with his family.

The UK Foreign Office was contacted by Burmese authorities in relation to the incident and work is underway to determine what happened in the crash.

Irwin Mitchell’s specialist Aviation Law team represent people who have suffered serious injury in air accidents in the UK and abroad, as well as the families of victims killed in such incidents.

Former RAF pilot Jim Morris, who is a Partner in the team, said: “This is clearly a terrible tragedy and it is vital, for the sake of those onboard and the families of those killed in the incident, that answers are provided over what happened.

“All aspects of the air accident will need to be considered by authorities, including the weather conditions at the time, the actions of the pilot and crew and also whether any technical or mechanical issue could have played a part in the incident.  At this early stage there are conflicting reports, some stating that fog caused the crash and others indicating that a problem with the aircraft may have contributed to the crash.

“A thorough analysis of all of these issues is vital to determine the actual chain of events that led to this accident and ensure that, ultimately, flight safety lessons can be learned which will improve standards going forward.  It is to be hoped that the Burmese authorities will publish a preliminary report as soon as the data from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) has been obtained, and that this report will contain all relevant transcripts of this real time evidence so that the aviation industry in Burma can quickly learn and take measures to prevent a similar tragedy occurring again.

"Although this was a terrible accident that resulted in deaths and injuries, it is extremely fortunate, and surprising, that so many persons survived.  It is crucial that the Burmese authorities and aviation industry prevent this from happening again as another similar accident could result in far more disastrous consequences."