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No SAS crew involved in flying helicopter to pick up 'nasi ganja'

IPOH: No crew of the Systematic Aviation Services Sdn Bhd (SAS) were involved in picking up 36 packets of nasi ganja at Ipoh Padang here on Friday, SAS chief executive officer Ida Adora Ismail said.

"It was widely circulated all over the news on July 23 (Friday) that an aircraft operating under SAS' Air Operator Certificate (AOC) type Bell 505, bearing tail number 9M-RCI landed at the Ipoh Padang without permit to accept delivery of 36 packets of nasi ganja.

"While we confirm that the said aircraft is under a leasing agreement with us, the said aircraft does not belong to us and at that time it was landed in Ipoh Padang, the private flight flown by the owner and his passenger from Subang Airport to Ipoh and back to Subang Airport. No crew of SAS was part of this flight," she said in a statement today.

She said SAS would not comment on any claim or allegation that the flight and its landing were in breach of the Movement Control Order (MCO) as the conduct of the private flight was within the responsibility of the owner commanding the flight.

"SAS bears no responsibility in ensuring the owner's private flights are with relevant police approval.

"All landing rights, etc is the responsibility of the owner commanding the aircraft during private flights," she added.

It was reported yesterday that a helicopter landed at Ipoh Padang here just to pick up 36 packs of Nasi Ganja booked by a customer from Kuala Lumpur.

Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash had said checks with the Ipoh Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), revealed the helicopter was only allowed to land at the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (LTSAS) in Ipoh.

Following this, he said police were probing whether the incident had broken any standard operating procedures (SOP) of the MCO.

CAAM has also launched an investigation over the flight path of the Bell 505 helicopter.

CAAM in a statement said initial investigations revealed that the helicopter had departed from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang, Selangor for Ipoh at 9.08am and had returned to the airport at 11.02am, as per the filed flight plan.

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