‘Lost screws’ to blame for airport leg mutilation

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Thailand airport medics help an injured woman after her leg got stuck in a conveyor belt at Don Mueang Airport on June 29. (Photo from Facebook page of Don Mueang International Airport-DMK)

Missing screws under a treadmill platform were behind the incident at Don Mueang airport that cost a woman part of her left leg on June 29, an observer said on Friday. the investigative inquiry.

Associate Professor Weerachai Phut-dhowong, a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said it was actually an accident.

Professor Assoc Weerachai was nominated by the victim’s family to join the investigation committee, which also includes the Ministry of Transport, the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT), the Council of Engineers and the Siam Hitachi company. .

The incident happened last Thursday around 8:40 a.m. in the south corridor of the airport’s domestic terminal. The injured woman is being treated in an intensive care unit at Bumrungrad International Hospital.

Speaking after the committee meeting on Friday, Prof Assoc Wee-rachai said the mechanical failure may have been caused by missing screws under the platform.

He said normally each panel of the treadmill was fastened with four screws, but the panel the woman stepped on had only one screw. Three screws were missing, so when she stepped on the panel, it fell while the walkway was still moving and caught her leg.

“I consider this an accident, and it has nothing to do with luggage or the missing comb from the travellator. The travellator had been in use for nearly 30 years, and the sensor system was functional as it stopped the walkway in 10 seconds,” he said.

However, the 10 seconds seemed too long as it appeared to have cost the woman her leg, he said.

He said everyone at the scene, including four flight attendants and technicians, rushed to help the victim at the time.

The question is how those screws disappeared, he said, speculating it might be because the moving walkway was too old.

Meanwhile, Kit Kittirattana, the victim’s son, has thanked Professor Assoc Weerachai in a Facebook post for proving his mother was not at fault by looking to see if the incident was caused by negligence on her part. or by the fault of a certain agency.

“I urge the investigating committee to inspect the case thoroughly in order to prevent the recurrence of such an incident,” he said.

Mr Kit also said that Professor Assoc Wee-rachai had proposed to the committee to recreate the incident and that he would hold at least two more meetings, adding that Airports of Thailand was preparing to issue a statement admitting fault and assuming responsibility. full responsibility for the accident.

“My mother is recovering after being treated in an intensive care unit for four days,” he added.

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