The plan for Thailand's army to have an eye-in-the-sky in the deep South was brought down to earth yesterday. The 350-million baht surveillance airship crash-landed in Pattani province during its first active operation.The scandal-plagued blimp was to be used to patrol the skies during Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's visit to the area. It crash-landed at the 15th Infantry Division in Nong Chik district of Pattani. The two military pilots and two technicians who were aboard when the blimp crashed escaped with minor injuries.
Thailand's military purchased this surveillance blimp in 2010 as part of its strategy to restore peace in the three Muslim dominated provinces in the deep South, but it has yet to complete a flight amid widespread criticism it is yet another waste of government funds.