they were only away from the airport, even though their aircraft was further away at that time. The Thai aircraft was then given priority by the air traffic control at 15:36 for landing. The captain of the Dragonair flight now warned the Thai crew of a possible collision because the Thai Boeing 737 would intercept its flight path. As a result, the Thai Airways crew reduced the aircraft's speed. A lapse in concentration by the flight crew occurred allowing the speed of Flight 365 to fall below the minimum limit. When the speed had dropped to , the stick shaker activated. The aircraft slowed down for another ten seconds and then entered a stall a speed of . In an attempt to recover from the stall, the captain increased engine power and retracted the landing gear. This failed as the aircraft was now at a low altitude. The plane crashed into the Andaman Sea east of the airport, and sank into a seabed that was deep. Everyone on board the aircraft was killed. Investigation The probable cause for the crash of Flight 365 was determined to be "The pilot slowed the aircraft and it stalled while the pilot prepared to land first as advised by Phuket approach control. It appears that he was worrying and not sure whether he was able to land first because the pilot of the second aircraft gave warning that the first aircraft was above him and could not descend passing through his level. The pilot added power and raised the gear after the stick shaker activated but couldn’t execute a recovery before hitting the sea." In addition to pilot error, the air traffic controller was blamed for failing to keep Flight 365 and the Dragonair 737 adequately separated. In the aftermath of the incident, the two air traffic controllers involved in the incident were assigned to other positions. References External links Plane Crash Info: Thai Airways Flight 365 Phuket province Aviation accidents and incidents in Thailand Aviation accidents and incidents in 1987 Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Aviation accidents and incidents caused by air traffic controller error Thai Airways Company accidents and incidents Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Original 1987 in Thailand August 1987 events in Asia