Police plane crash in Thailand kills all six onboard

KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (KUNA) -- A Royal Thai police plane crashed into the sea in Thailand's Hua Hin district, killing all six on board, officials said Friday.
Bangkok Post quoted Royal Thai police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong as saying that the plane was conducting a test flight to prepare for parachute training before it crashed around 8 a.m.
All six on board were police officers, Archayon said. Five of them died at the scene and one, the pilot, died later at the hospital.
Local media outlets mentioned that the plane is one of three Twin Otter planes obtained by the royal police in 2020, and underwent recent maintenance.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the plane lost balance as soon as it took off, as a video showed that it dropped sharply and split into two halves upon impact.
Investigations are still underway to ascertain causes of the incident. (end) aab.aai