KUALA LUMPUR: Pilot negligence was a factor in the helicopter crash which killed Rompin Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis and five others last year.
A final report released by the Malaysia Air Accident Investigation Bureau on Friday concluded that the helicopter’s pilot, Captain Clifford Fournier, failed to check on the condition of the helicopter after it made an earlier rough landing at a football field in Muadzam Shah, Pahang.
It was one of a host of elements which contributed to the crash, although the official cause of the accident was the “separation of the left horizontal stabiliser”. Other contributors include an unplanned landing, excessive load on the fractured left horizontal stabiliser caused by a descending high cruising speed, and intervention by passengers who may have pressured the pilot to rush.
The report revealed that Fournier failed to inspect an excessive oil leak and damage to other parts of the helicopter after the aforementioned rough landing, and his decision to continue the journey to Subang Airport.
Based on data gathered from the Solid State Combination Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorder, the left landing gear was revealed to have sunk approximately 51cm deep into the soft ground (of the football field), causing the helicopter to tilt more than 13 degrees to the left.
“The left horizontal stabiliser vertical fin and the tail section below the tail rotor fenestron had impacted the ground, causing some damage to the inboard root of the left horizontal stabiliser,” the report said.
On April 4, the Dauphin 9M-IGB helicopter carrying Jamaluddin and five other passengers, including the principal private secretary to the Prime Minister, Azlin Alias, crashed in a rubber estate in Kampung Pasir Baru, Sungai Pening, Semenyih.
The group was en route to Subang after attending the wedding reception of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s daughter in Taman Tasik Sultan Abu Bakar, Pekan, Pahang.
The dead included Fournier, Kedah businessman Robert Tan, bodyguard Razkan Seran and Ajdiana Baiziera.