KUALA LUMPUR: Investigators probing into the Royal Selangor Flying Club Cessna that crashed in Ulu Yam on Friday are wondering why the emergency locater transmitter (ELT) in the aircraft was not triggered upon impact.
The New Straits Times was made to understand that neither the air-traffic controllers nor search-and-rescue crew were able to obtain any radio signal from the ELT when they were trying to locate the crash site.
Also, investigators had said the Cessna had diverted from its flight path, which was to go over Batu Caves and return to the club at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Sungai Besi.
Officials are looking at several explanations as to why the ELT failed to function.
"Apart from a technical malfunction, the thick foliage of the dense forest could have prevented the signal from being transmitted out of the crash site," said the official, who declined to be identified.
The ELT is usually fixed to the tail section of the aircraft to minimise damage upon impact.
He recalled the club's Cessna 26 aircraft crash involving (former home and foreign minister) Tun Ghazali Shafie (he was the sole survivor and had co-piloted the aircraft) in Kampung Som Som hill near Janda Baik in Genting Higlands on Jan 10, 1982.
"In that incident, the ELT functioned well and it helped the rescue team to zero in to the crash site quickly," said the official, who was then part of the search-and-rescue team.
The bodies of the pilot and Ghazali's aide-de-camp, who died, were also recovered promptly.
The NST was informed that investigators of Friday's incident might rule out technical problems as cause of the crash as the pilot did not transmit the "Mayday" emergency radio call to air-traffic controllers prior to the crash.
The aircraft is believed to have undergone periodical scheduled maintenance at the club's hangar and was fit to fly.
On the recovery of the wreckage, the DCA is being assisted by the club's engineering and maintenance crew to remove it in parts in easing efforts to extract it from the dense jungle.
The officer, who is part of the investigating team, said due credit should be given to farmer Darmawan Kamaruzaman, 33, who had expeditiously helped locate the crash site.
http://www.nst.com.my
SELAYANG: Syed Haidir Syed Zulkiflee is determined to continue flying despite the accident which almost took his alive.
His father Syed Zulkiflee Syed Masron, 50 said his son remained optimistic about pursuing his dream to be a pilot.
"In
fact, he can wait to be discharged and start his training again," he
said, adding that he would warded for at least three more days.
He added that the family was relieved to know that Syed Haidir was safe after traumatizing incident.
"We will definitely continue to standby our son to achieve his dream of being a pilot.
"Whatever gives him satisfaction, will give us utmost happiness," he told reporters at Selayang Hospital.
He added that death could happen to anyone, anytime and anywhere.
"And this risk should not be the reason why he did not pursue his dream," he said.
According to Syed Zulkiflee, the pilot was trying to avoid two eagles when the accident occurred.
Syed Haidir, the eldest of four siblings, was the co-pilot.
He has remaining 14 hours to complete his private pilot license.
The club lost communication with the Cessna at 5.15pm and started rescue operation then.
The family was informed of the incident by the Royal Selangor Club at around 8.30pm the flights whereabouts was not known then.
Source: http://www.nst.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR, 12 Jan (Bernama) -- The pilot of an ill-fated Cessna 172 that crashed into a bamboo grove near Batu Dam in Ulu Yam near here on Friday said he had to make a split-second decision to avoid a pair of eagles from disabling the plane before it went out of control.
"I had no choice but to swerve to avoid the eagles from being sucked into the engine.
"Had the eagles struck the engine, it could have caught fire and we could have crashed into the reservoir of the dam. This will be even more dangerous.
"Ironically, the plane went out of control due to strong winds, causing it to dive and crashed into a bamboo grove at about 5pm on Friday," pilot Saiful Farid Amri Amrizal told reporters at the Selayang Hospital here Sunday.
Apart from Saiful Farid Amri the others on board the four-seater plane were co-pilot Syed Haidhar Syed Zulkiflee, 25, and passenger Mohd Shaiful Zafeq Razali, 24.
Saiful Farid Amri sustained a facial injury while Syed Haidhar and Mohd Shaiful Zafeq suffered facial and leg injuries. They were transferred from the emergency unit to the general ward today.
Saiful Farid Amri said he crawled out of the wreckage before puling out Syed Haidhar and Mohd Shaiful before setting a bonfire at the crash site at nightfall to enable rescuers to locate them.
"I was thankful that fire-fighters managed to locate us," he said.
Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim said fire-fighters managed to rescue the victims within 14 hours in the dark and steep hilly forest.
"I would like to thank Batu Dam residents for providing information on the crash that enabled us launch our operation at 12.15am. They told us that the direction they heard a loud bang," he told reporters after visiting the three victims.
Fire officer Ismail Abdul Ghani, 46, said the trio were exhausted and traumatised when they were found at about 5am.
"The first thing we did was to ensure that their injuries would not get worse," he said.
Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Department director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said a team of investigators from the Royal Selangor Flying Club were conducting a study on the wreckage at the crash site.
"The wreckage will be left there for the time while we are probe into the cause of the crash as efforts to retrieve it will take time," he added.
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