Pilot must explain why passengers were kept aboard damaged planeRescuers and medics help passengers leave the crashed Nok Air plane after it slid off the runway at Mae Fah Luang international airport in Chiang Rai on Saturday. Under international aviation protocols, all passengers must be evacuated from the aircraft within 90 seconds of a serious incident, according to the CAAT chief. But the evacuation rules were also flexible, depending on the circumstances and safety of the passengers and aircraft, he said. The CAAT chief also said passengers were allowed to stand on runways in case of emergency, although they were off limits in normal circumstances. Mr Suttipong said the aviation regulator would not be quick to blame the chief pilot for the slow evacuation that kept most passengers inside the aircraft without sufficient air to breathe.
