Elmina plane crash: CVR sent to AAIB for analysis - Loke

KUALA LUMPUR: The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of the Beechcraft Model 390 (Premier 1) aircraft which crashed in Bandar Elmina in Shah Alam yesterday, was sent to the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) early this morning for analysis.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said AAIB, a bureau under his ministry, has been instructed to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation and the results of the investigation will be made public as soon as possible.

"All the results of the investigation will be announced transparently...we will not hide any facts, all the facts obtained will be announced to the public," he told reporters after attending the signing of collaboration and funding agreements between Yinson, RRJ and Farosson in here today.

Yesterday, a Beechcraft Model 390 (Premier 1) aircraft crashed on the Guthrie Highway near Elmina Town resulting in the death of 10 individuals.

Eight of the victims were six passengers and two crew aboard the light aircraft, while the other two were a motorcyclist and a car driver who happened to be passing by the crash site.

Loke said that his ministry was aware that the analysis needed to be done immediately because it involved the interests of many and attracted the attention of many parties, and he himself also wanted to know the cause of the crash as soon as possible.

Regarding the identity of the two civilian victims involved in the accident, Loke said he would leave it to the police to carry out an investigation and identify them.

"As far as the Ministry of Transport (MOT) is concerned, yesterday we have done what we needed to do, which was to make public the flight manifest, the passengers involved, but the identity of all the victims must be verified by the police," he said.

In the meantime, Loke also urged the public not to create any speculation regarding the plane crash, and asked for privacy to be given to the victims' family members.

He said it would be better if authorities such as the police and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) were given space to carry out their investigations in detail and comprehensively.

In yesterday's crash, Pahang Local Government, Housing, Environment and Green Technology Committee chairman and Pelangai assemblyman Datuk Seri Johari Harun was on the flight manifest.

Also on the list were two pilots Shahrul Kamal Roslan and Heikal Aras Abdul Azim, as well as five other passengers namely, Kharil Azwan Jamaludin, Shaharul Amir Omar, Mohamad Naim Fawwaz Mohamed Muaidi, Muhammad Taufiq Mohd Zaki and Idris Abdol Talib @ Ramali.

--BERNAMA