On 11 December 1998, the aircraft, an Airbus A310-204 registered in Thailand as HS-TIA, stalled and crashed into a swamp during its landing attempt at Surat Thani Airport.

There were 25 foreigners on board the flight, including nationalities from Austria, Australia, Britain, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, Norway, Pakistan and the United States.

[6] Flight TG261 departed from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport with 132 passengers and 14 crew members at 17:40 local time to Surat Thani, a gateway city for popular resort island of Koh Samui in Thailand.

The weather at Surat Thani Airport was 1500 metres visibility with calm winds and a cloud base of 1800 above ground level, temperature and dew point 24 and 22°C.

[10] > At 18:39 local time, the co-pilot contacted Surat Thani to report Flight 261's position.

The weather had deteriorated, the visibility decreased from 1,500 to 1,000 metres (4,900 to 3,300 ft) which was now less than allowed for the type of non precision approach in use.

[11] The pilots informed the passengers of the deteriorating weather conditions and announced that they would attempt another landing for the third time and stated that if they failed again they would divert back to Bangkok.

[13][14] The Airbus A310 crashed into swampy ground near a flooded rubber plantation and exploded, bursting into flames.

Identification of the victims was also hampered by the fact that passengers were not required to fill a next of kin form for a domestic flight.

Among the survivors were 12 foreigners (three Australians, three Japanese, three Germans, two Israelis and one Briton[9][22]) and Thai actor and singer Ruangsak Loychusak.

Siriwan, the sister of Thai Minister of Transport and Communications of Thailand Suthep Thaugsuban, and Thawat Wichaidit [th], Member of Parliament from Surat Thani, were among those killed.

[24] Both recorders were sent to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States for readout analysis.

Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, announced that they would send a team of specialists to assist Thai authorities in the crash investigation.

A heavy rainstorm caused by Tropical Storm Gil was reportedly present prior to Flight 261's landing.

Airline officials had told crew members to fly according to the company's procedures, in which pilots should not land if the meteorological condition in the area was inclement.

Investigators stated that bad weather was the probable cause of the accident, without ruling out pilot error.

[26][9] According to the available weather data, at the time of the accident the wind was blowing at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) with a visibility of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) with rain reportedly present.

[6] Reports also emerged that the runway at Surat Thani Airport was lacking an essential navigation system.

The system was scheduled to be put back on-line, however the subsequent 1997 Asian financial crisis caused it to be postponed.

This was caused by the placement of the VOR (used as an approach aid by the airport), which was located at the left side of the runway (track 225 degree).

[6] In the third attempt, the controller in Surat Thani informed the flight crew that the visibility had deteriorated to 1,000 metres, both pilots were worried about this.

The low visibility, the difficult landing attempt in Surat Thani, and the possibility of going back to Bangkok caused a heavy workload with the pilots of Flight 261.

The flight crew's attention was channeled due to the stress, causing them to lose situational awareness.

[6] The aircraft involved in the accident was an Airbus A310, a medium range airliner equipped with 2 large turbo fan engines, both of which were located under swept wings.

Vice-president of the company, Chamlong Poompuang, stated that pilots were trained to exercise high caution.

At the same time, he recognized that the airline had undertaken fuel-saving measures due to the economic downturn, but that flight operations should not be performed if safety was compromised.

Thai Airways International chairman, Thamnoon Wanglee emphasized, "Safety is our highest priority.

"[8] Thailand's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee concluded the cause of the crash as follows: After careful consideration.

the Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee of the Kingdom of Thailand ultimately came to the conclusion that the accident occurred because the aircraft entered into a stall condition which might be caused by the followings: Thai Airways International offered compensation payment to the families affected by the crash.