LANGKAWI: Malaysia will soon have the capability to analyse flight data recorders, better known as ‘black boxes.’
This came about following a joint-initiative by the Transport Ministry (MOT) and Defence Ministry (Mindef) following the Malaysia Airlines MH370 and MH17 incidents in 2014, which saw Malaysia lose two commercial aircraft.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said MOT's Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mindef's Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence (Stride) to develop the capability to read black boxes.
“This initiative will see officers from AAIB and Stride being sent abroad to either the United Kingdom or Australia for a black box analysis course.
"Once we have this capability, Malaysia will no longer need to send our black box overseas when there is a need for analysis," he told a press conference after a signing of agreements ceremony at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition 2017 (Lima 2017), here today.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the move came about with the country learning from its experiences in air incidents.
He said while Malaysia mourns the tragedies of MH370 and MH17, the country must also take the approach of learning from experience.