Australia to release its Double Six crash reports

KOTA KINABALU: Australia is set to release all the reports it has kept under lock and key at its National Archives on the 1976 “Double Six” Nomad air crash that killed 11 people, including the then Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens.

Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Sydney gave the go-ahead on Monday for the government to release the reports on the crash.

The tribunal decision was made by senior member G. Lazanas in accordance with Section 40 of Australia’s Archives Act 1983.

Australia’s declassification of the documents comes after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim allowed for Malaysia’s investigation report to be declassified earlier this month.

Among the Australian investigations documents to be released are:

> Record B5535 GAF37: G Bennett – Sabah Air Nomad – report by Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) Investigation Team on a crash of Nomad Aircraft in Malaysia 9M-ATZ on June 6, 1976;

> Record B638, 6/760/17 Part 1: Accident Malaysia Nomad Aircraft 9M-ATZ on June 6, 1976; and

> Record B638, 6/760/17 Part 2: Accident Malaysia Nomad Aircraft 9M-ATZ on June 6, 1976.

This was confirmed by Sabah-based law firm Messrs Jayasuriya Kah & Co, which was acting on behalf of former chief minister Tan Sri Mohd Harris Salleh, who had made an application on May 12 last year to the National Archives of Australia to release the reports.

The application in Australia was filed by Stephen Blanks of SBA Lawyers and Tom Brennan SC of 13 Wentworth Chambers on the instruction of Messrs Jayasuriya Kah & Co.

Senior lawyer of the firm Datuk Alex Decena said the Australian government would submit the reports to the firm before they were made public.

However, he could not immediately confirm when the reports would be released to the firm.

The Australian-made Nomad N-22B aircraft was manufactured by GAF.

The Malaysian investigation report on the crash pointed to pilot error and overloading of the rear cargo as the cause for the plane to stall and nosedive into Sembulan waters as it made its approach to land in Kota Kinabalu airport.

The release of the Malaysian report prompted many of the families of the victims to call upon the Australian authorities to do likewise.