Part 2/8:
The aircraft departed from Sydney Airport in the afternoon, with hopes for a smooth eight and a half-hour flight to Bangkok. Onboard was a highly experienced crew: a captain with over 15,000 flying hours, a first officer with nearly 9,000, and a second officer with approximately 6,000. Despite their competence, this flight would soon illuminate fundamental flaws in training and crew resource management.
As the flight took off, thunderstorms were brewing in Thailand—a warning the crew would soon realize they had underplayed. Qantas flight 1 pushed back from the gate under clear skies, but as it soared through the South China Sea, it unknowingly headed towards forthcoming inclement conditions in Bangkok.