KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Navy's AW139 that crashed earlier today, bearing the registration number M503-3, is a medium-sized twin-engined utility helicopter assigned to the 503 Squadron.
It was developed by AgustaWestland, now Leonardo Helicopters, for a crew of one or two people and up to 15 passengers.
The AW139 Maritime Operations Helicopter (HOM) was among three procured by the RMN via the Industrial Collaboration Programme (ICP) with Galaxy Aerospace (M) Sdn Bhd and was officially delivered on Nov 26, 2022.
The helicopters were given the name Tanom after the Murut warrior Antanom.
The helicopter also contains safety features namely state-of-the-art integrated avionics, which are electronic systems and instruments installed in the aircraft's cockpit for navigation, communication, and control purposes.
It also has a fully digital glass cockpit and role equipment such as the Obstacle Proximity Lidar System (OPLS), minimising pilot workload and improving situational awareness.
The AW139 has a maximum gross weight of 6,400kg and an overall height of 4.98m.
At an altitude of 5,000 feet, under International Standard Atmosphere conditions, and at maximum gross weight, it achieves a maximum cruise speed of 306kph with an endurance of five hours and 38 minutes.
Meanwhile, the other helicopter involved in the crash, the Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopter) AS 555 (now H125M) Fennec is a twin-engined shipborne helicopter that belongs to the Ecureuil, or Squirrel, family.
It has a maximum speed of 278kph, a service ceiling of 3,800m and a range of 720km.
The helicopter's endurance is two hours and 20 minutes, with a cruise speed of 217kph and a maximum take-off weight of 2,600kg.
The navy received its first Fennec helicopter on March 30, 2004 and the other five helicopters were delivered in phases, with the last aircraft received in April 2004.
All six helicopters are being operated by the 502 Squadron for training, surveillance, medical evacuation, search and rescue, fire support and special forces operations.
The Fennec has served the navy in numerous operations such as Operation Fajar, which was carried out in the Gulf of Eden to secure trading ships' routes.
It also took part by providing fire support to the navy's Paskal commandos after Somali pirates hijacked MV Bunga Laurel chemical tanker in 2011.
All 10 crews in both helicopters which collided in mid-air today perished, including the two squadron's commanding officers who were on board.
Following the collision, the AW139 helicopter crashed at the steps of the Navy Stadium while the Fennec crashed near the pool of the Navy Sports Complex.