KUANTAN: The crash involving a fighter jet on Aug 21 at the Kuantan Air Base was due to a bird strike, says Jen Datuk Seri Muhamad Norazlan Aris.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) chief said that an RMAF Board of Inquiry probe found that the crash with a heron on the runway had caused the failure of the F/A-18D Hornet aircraft’s left engine.
“The conclusion was based on CCTV analysis, data from the Deployable Flight Incident Recorder System with assistance from the United States Navy, technical data, as well as analysis obtained from the Defence Science and Technology Research Institute, the Chemistry Department, the Royal Malaysia Police, and the Wildlife and National Parks Department,” he said.
He said that F/A-18D Hornet operations would proceed as usual as the aircraft had completed flight training to evaluate their current status.
“I am confident that there are no (aircraft-related) issues that could lead to technical problems.
“It was more of an unavoidable incident, as a relatively large bird caused the aircraft to be unable to take off that night,” he said at the Kuantan Air Base yesterday, Bernama reported.
Muhamad Norazlan added that the crash occurred when the aircraft was taking off at a speed of 146 knots, and at an altitude of nearly 10m, before the two crew members ejected about 50m from the plane.
Meanwhile, he said the pilot, Mejar Mohamad Azhar Alang Kamarudin, 34, and the weapon systems officer, Kapt Mohamad Izzuddin Mohamad Salleh, 28, are currently recovering and are expected to return to duty on Oct 2.
On Aug 21, the two RMAF personnel were involved in the F/A-18D Hornet fighter jet crash at the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport here.
