SEPANG: A preliminary report on the helicopter crash in Perak that claimed a pilot’s life will be completed by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) within 30 days, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The Transport Minister said AAIB has been tasked with investigating last Sunday’s crash near Bidor, Perak, following the completion of the search and rescue (SAR) operation into the incident involving a Eurocopter EC120B aircraft on Monday.
“I will inform the media when they submit the preliminary report to me later,” he said, adding that the full report to see if there were technical issues or a breach of the rules could take up to a year.
“The report will also be sent to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) for necessary action to be taken,” he said after opening the state safety programme at the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre (KLATCC) here yesterday.
Also present were Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Henry Sum Agong, ministry secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak, CAAM chairman Tan Sri Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman, CAAM CEO Datuk Captain Chester Voo, and Malaysian Aviation Commission chief operating officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin.
On Monday, the pilot, identified by the police as Tzs Kin Richard Chan from Hong Kong, was pronounced dead at 10.46am.
On the seeming discrepancy on the status of the pilot when he was found Monday morning at the crash site in Kampung Kenangan near Bidor, Dr Wee said he had an obligation to disseminate information as soon as it was made available to him.
“In my position, I had the responsibility to provide the latest update and I was equally hopeful that the pilot would be found alive.
“And that was what I received between 8.18am and 8.29am on Monday, that the wreckage had been found and the pilot was alive,” he said.
Showing the media messages and transcripts from Capt Voo and the Royal Malaysian Air Force personnel who were involved in the SAR operation on the ground, Dr Wee said there was no communications breakdown.
“What I updated was true at the time they were relayed to me.
“When the victim was confirmed dead by the police, it was two hours later,” he said, adding that it was distasteful for some people, including Opposition leaders, to accuse him or the CAAM of issuing conflicting statements.
“Some even criticised why it was not the minister who died.
“Let’s not make things worse at a sad time like this,” he said.
Dr Wee added that the information he shared was based on the transcripts and following the standard operating procedure practised at KLATCC, which acted as the command centre for the SAR operation.
Lauding and thanking the efforts of various parties in the SAR operation, Dr Wee said KLATCC’s aeronautical rescue coordination centre, which is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and capabilities, would be the SAR operations command centre for any future aviation mishaps.
