Elmina plane crash: BSKU chief off to Florida to send memory puck for analysis

KUALA LUMPUR: The Air Accident Investigation Bureau (BSKU) team leader will leave for the United States (US) this evening, to get the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) memory puck of the Beechcraft Model 390 (Premier 1) extracted and analysed by a laboratory in Florida.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the data analysis will be processed as early as Monday morning (US time) because all preparations including clearance from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) laboratory can be obtained within these two days.

"The BSKU chief will leave for Florida at 7pm as his visa was just approved this morning and he is expected to be in the US for a few days.

"On Monday morning, together with the OEM laboratory team, he will open up the memory puck, extract and analyse the data and then return home to make a report," he told a press conference here today.

On views by some analysts that the chances of identifying the actual cause of the crash were slim as the CVR was badly damaged, Loke said everyone has their own opinions but the government was doing its best.

"Stop making speculations. We are trying our best by going to the OEM lab to extract the data so before we get to the lab, don't draw conclusions because we are committed to our duties to identify the cause of the crash," he said.

Meanwhile, he said the BSKU chief had assured that the initial report of the incident would be ready within 30 days of the crash.

"We have to understand that the report cannot be rushed because it must follow Annex 13-Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO Annex 13) protocol.

"So please give us some time," he said.

In the Aug 17 incident, a Beechcraft Model 390 (Premier 1) light aircraft, crashed onto the Guthrie Highway near Bandar Elmina, killing all six passengers, two crew aboard and two others who were passing through the crash site.

-- BERNAMA