Airport’s wind warning system was not working

THAI authorities probing a plane crash that killed 89 people in Phuket discovered yesterday that a system designed to check for dangerous winds was not fully working, an official said.

Attention had earlier focused on the pilot, with officials saying he had been warned of a dangerous wind shear by air traffic control but decided to land anyway.

But investigators believe the system to detect a sudden change in wind direction, which can throw a plane off course and then disappear, leaving pilots struggling to keep the jet under control, was not working properly.