THE collision between the two Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) helicopters in Lumut boiled down to two factors, the main one being that the Eurocopter Fennec (M502-6) helicopter was not at the designated altitude and direction, and had entered the path of the Agusta Westland AW139 Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM).
This is according to the final report by an investigation board established by the RMN, which also found the secondary factor that caused the crash to be the attention of the AW139 crew which was focused on changing course, limiting their ability to avoid the collision.
Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Ayob, who announced this, also confirmed that no human error was found in their investigation.
“There were no elements of human error found. The findings indicate that the aircraft was at an incorrect altitude,” he was reported as saying during a press conference on the Final Report of the Lumut Air Crash today (May 30).
“(Human error cannot be confirmed because) the Fennec aircraft did not have a black box, so no data can conclude human error by the pilot.
“What we can conclude is that the Fennec was at the incorrect altitude and position.”
Abdul Rahman said the autopsy report confirmed that there were no issues of hypoglycemia or elements of fatigue among the crew, and no use of prohibited substances, nor were there any mental illnesses that were recorded or identified.
“All the crew members involved were medically certified as fit to fly. The deaths of all 10 victims were due to multiple injuries from the aviation crash,” he stated.
“Maintenance work on both aircraft was confirmed to have been carried out according to the procedures and routines set by the OEM.
“Samples of oil, lubricant, and fuel were examined and confirmed to be normal by the Institute of Defense Science and Technology Research (STRIDE).”
The crash, which occurred on April 23 during a rehearsal for the navy’s 90th anniversary event, claimed the lives of all 10 crew members on board the helicopters. – May 30, 2024
