Technical glitch caused plane to dive

KUALA LUMPUR: The technical issue that caused a Malaysia Airlines Boeing-737-800 plane to dive suddenly and fly erratically was due to a malfunction to the pitot-static system, says the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia.

The pitot-static system are instruments that measure pressure differences to determine air speed and altitude.

In a statement issued yesterday, CAAM chief executive officer Datuk Chester Voo said the cause was determined upon reviewing the initial safety investigation and engineering reports in regard to the incident, which occurred during flight MH2664 from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau, Sabah, a week ago.

He said the malfunction produced a false speed indication on board, resulting in the aircraft to pitch-up and deactivate the autopilot.

“In response to this, the pilot in command’s immediate and correct reaction was to regain positive control of the aircraft.

“This is crucial to ensure that the aircraft remained under pilot control, based on remaining accurate indications by using the remaining instruments.

“During this manoeuvre, safety data showed an abrupt input from the pilot during attempts to regain control.

“However, these manoeuvres resulted in pitch and altitude changes that correspond with the pilot’s report and passengers’ experience on board.

“These corrective manoeuvres were compounded by bad weather,” he said.

Voo said to maintain effective safety oversight, CAAM had instructed Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) to immediately enhance their Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) programme to emphasise initial reaction and time taken to respond to issues.

“This will be mandated by CAAM to all commercial aircraft operators.

“We have also instructed them to issue an enhanced safety memo to mandate the need for improved initial action, reaction, and reinforcing compliance to the abnormal recovery checklist.

“As well as review analysis from the aircraft manufacturer (The Boeing Company) of the failure to troubleshoot root causes with enhanced corrective actions to improve the maintenance programme,” he said.

Voo said further requirements on MAB are to review with CAAM on the reliability report to focus on similar faults reported for recorded in-flight issues for the Boeing 737-800 fleet.

“They are required to complete a pitot static inspection that covers all disciplines including probe heating and resistance tests on all Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) B737-800 series aircraft in the fleet,” he said.

Voo confirmed that the affected aircraft has been grounded until further notice and is currently awaiting technical analysis from The Boeing Company.

“Root causes identified are actively addressed to ensure enhanced methods of training and safety for all aviation staff involved.

“We will issue additional requirements to ensure all areas are carefully addressed as it is necessary to ensure adherence to the best safety practices and to always uphold public safety,” he said.

In a statement on April 6, MAS said that Flight MH2664 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport turned back due to “technical issues” with the aircraft and that the technical problems “were compounded by bad weather en route”.

It added that the pilot turned back to KLIA as a precautionary measure in the interest of passenger safety.