Rayani Air: Don't speculate, Liow says

He said such speculation can affect the safety of the aviation industry in the country.

On Feb 9, more than 200 passengers of Rayani Air were stranded in Langkawi when Flight RN180 scheduled for the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) was not allowed to depart due to the technical problems.

Following that, Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) had prepared two charter flights in order to help the stranded passengers.

Preliminary investigation found that a window on the plane’s cockpit had cracked when flight 9M-RKA was scheduled to be at the hanger in Langkawi on February 8.

Commenting on the incident, Liow said the ministry had ordered the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to conduct thorough investigation over the matter.

He said such technical problems were often faced by airlines but stressed that companies should strive to provide best service to passengers.

“But we have to investigate if it was sabotaged or if it was a technical matter,” he said.

“To determine if there were elements of sabotage is not difficult. When we look at the crack we would know if its a sabotage or not,” he added.