KUALA LUMPUR: The Australian government has agreed to release the full findings of the Double Six tragedy where a Nomad N-22B aircraft crashed and killed 11 people in 1976.
Australia's Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Sydney yesterday decided to allow the release in its entirety of Australia's reports on the tragedy. This followed a request made by the former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Harris Mohd Salleh.
Harris made the request to National Archives of Australia (NAA) through Messr Jayasuriya Kah & Co, who sought the help of Stephen Blanks of SBA Lawyers and Tom Brennan SC of 13 Wentworth Chambers to file the application in May last year.
The Malay Mail today quoted Datuk Alex Decena and Jordan Kong of Messrs. Jayasuriya Kah & Co, who confirmed the matter.
"They Australian government will be handing the reports to the firm, after which the firm will make the documents public. However, the firm was unable to confirm when the reports would be handed to them," the news portal reported.
The aviation tragedy on June 6, 1976 killed the then Sabah Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens and several other key Sabah leaders when the aircraft crashed near Sembulan waters in Sabah.
The Australian government took an interest to investigate the crash as it had involved a plane manufactured by the Australian government-owned Government Aircraft Factories (GAF).
Malaysia had also carried out its own investigations which was recently declassified by the Transport Ministry.
In 1977, Malaysia and Australia both decided that it would conduct its own investigation and neither had access to one another's findings of the crash.
The reports were classified and confidential until just recently.
Over the years, Australia released parts of its reports, but with redactions.
However, earlier this month, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke confirmed that Malaysia had given permission to Australia to declassified its reports as well.
"The Australian reports that are set to be released include the 50-page GAF Investigation Team report, which is named by the NAA as "Record B5535".
"A complimentary report named 'Record B638' — which contains two parts — will also be released," the portal reported.