Helicopters had no black boxes, AAIB to call surviving victims to record statements

KUALA LUMPUR : The Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will call the two victims who survived in a crash of two helicopters near Jalan Taman Melawati here tomorrow to assist in the investigation, says BSKU Air Accident Chief Inspector Brig-Gen Izani Ismail.

"Today, both the victims were sent to the hospital for further treatment, so tomorrow, both victims will be called by BSKU to assist in the investigation," he told Bernama today.

Izani also explained that the two light helicopters did not have a black box.

"Black boxes are only available on helicopters that are larger in size and heavier," he said when asked if the helicopter had a black box which was an important investigation tool in the event of an air crash.

Bernama, when at the scene earlier reported that it took almost an hour for the wreckage of the helicopter to be removed and dismantled before being taken to Subang, near here, for further investigation.

Meanwhile, Ampang Jaya District Police chief ACP Mohamad Farouk Eshak said the police had classified the case as sudden death.

"The post-mortem on the two victims of the accident will be carried out tomorrow at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre," he said.

He also requested members of the public who witnessed and recorded the incident to come to the Taman Melawati Police Station or Ampang Jaya District Police Headquarters to assist with investigations.

In the incident, two men were killed while two others including a woman survived when two helicopters collided mid-air, with one of them crashing into bushes in the area.

Earlier, Bernama reported that the helicopter which crashed was flown by pilot Mohamed Sabri Baharom, while the other helicopter was flown by Datuk Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, the former chief executive officer of Sistem Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad, now known as Malaysia Airlines Berhad.

The survivors, Ahmad Jauhari, 66, and Tan Chai Eian, 51, suffered minor injuries.

-- BERNAMA