US experts join plane probe

Final recording: A photo of the CVR which has been sent to a Singapore laboratory for analysis. The device was retrieved from the downed aircraft which will help in the crash probe. — Bernama

SHAH ALAM: A team of experts from the United States is here to assist in evidence gathering and the investigation into the crash of a Beechcraft 390 aeroplane that killed 10 people.

Shah Alam OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim said the team, which arrived in Malaysia on Sunday, visited the crash site at Elmina township here yesterday.

“They will be here for seven to 10 days. We believe the investigation process will take some time as various small components are still at the crash site,” he said yesterday.

Apart from the foreign experts, he said representatives from the aircraft company and an insurance firm in Singapore, as well as eight personnel from the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) were also present at the crash site.

All evidence would be brought to an aircraft hangar for analysis, he added.

ACP Mohd Iqbal said the bureau had taken over the investigation and evidence gathering process to determine the cause of the crash.

According to Bernama, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of the ill-fated plane had been sent to a laboratory in Singapore for analysis.

“Since we do not have the equipment to retrieve the data, the memory puck of the (charred) device was sent to Singapore on Sunday,” he told a press conference after attending the ministry’s monthly assembly in Putrajaya yesterday.

He added data from the final 30 minutes of the recording would be retrieved with help from the Republic’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau.

“We do not know how long (it would take) but we are doing our best to get the recording. We will make an announcement once it is available,” he said.

Loke said the preliminary investigation report into the crash, to be prepared by AAIB with help from the United States National Transportation Safety Board, would be released within a month.

On Aug 17, the Beechcraft 390 Premier 1 aircraft flying from Langkawi to Subang crashed onto the Guthrie Highway, killing the two pilots and six passengers on board, including Pahang state executive councillor Datuk Seri Johari Harun, as well as two road users, an ehailing driver and a food delivery rider.