BANGKOK The Thai Airways International (THAI) crash Friday in the southern province of Surat Thani, that has claimed at least 82 lives, was the national carrier's 14th accident in the past 18 years, the Bangkok Post reported Saturday. THAI, which is majority-owned by the government, has had five major crashes since 1980 that claimed lives, including the Surat Thani mishap, and 11 that involved injuries or no injuries.

The worst THAI crash to date was on July 31, 1992, in Kathmandu, Nepal, when a Thai Airbus 310-300 smashed into a cloud-covered mountain in the Himalayans, killing all 113 people on board. That crash was later blamed on pilot error, although the fault is still debated by THAI and Nepalese authorities. Other fatal crashes included a THAI Boeing 737 which collided with a plane belonging to Hong Kong's Dragonair on August 31, 1987 off the coast of Phuket Island in southern Thailand, that left 83 dead, and a THAI Avro 748 which crashed near Bangkok Airport on April 27, 1980, killing 40 people, said the Bangkok Post. On April 16, 1985 a Thai Airways (TA) Boeing 737 crashed into the sea off Phangna Province, also in the south, killing all seven people on board.

Thai Airways, the former domestic carrier, was later merged with THAI to increase the local aviation system's efficiency and standards. With the death toll already at 82 and probably rising, the Surat Thani crash of December 11, 1998 could become THAI's second worst accident in recent history. (DPA)