By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 15: The preliminary investigation report into the Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter crash in Long Lellang, Sarawak, will be presented to the Cabinet tomorrow, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said.
According to a TVS news report, Loke stated that investigations were still ongoing, with the final report required to be completed within one year of the accident.
He noted that the preliminary report, prepared by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), found that the helicopter’s pilot held a valid pilot licence, necessary qualifications to operate the flight, and a valid medical certificate.
“The helicopter also had valid certificates of registration and airworthiness, and was certified as airworthy at the time of departure,” he said, according to TVS, when answering a question in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Loke was responding to Datuk Dr Richard Rapu (GPS-Betong), who asked to state the dates of the safety audit, surveillance audit and most recent inspection conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) on Layang-Layang Aerospace, the operator of the BO105 helicopter bearing registration number 9M-LLF.
Loke also pointed out that an audit of the helicopter’s owner, Layang-Layang Aerospace, have been carried out with three audit findings and three observations identified.
He explained that the findings were organisational in nature and were not directly related to the technical condition of the helicopter or the aircraft systems involved in the accident. He noted that the audit findings covered the methods used to calculate and plan manpower requirements, unclear records of scheduled maintenance inspections, and inadequate documentation of procedures for maintaining operational continuity following an emergency.
“All audit findings have been closed except for one concerning the calculation of maintenance manpower requirements, which was still awaiting the Ministry’s final verification process when the crash occurred,” he said.
Loke added the Ministry had also conducted verification inspections on other BO105 helicopters on Sept 9 and 10, as well as on other aircraft using the same Rolls-Royce AR250 engine from Sept 10 to 12, of which inspections found satisfactory compliance with scheduled maintenance requirements and Airworthiness Directives.
The helicopter crash in Long Lellang on Sept 8 claimed five lives, including the pilot and four Ministry of Health personnel. – DayakDaily
