KUALA LUMPUR – The memory puck recovered from the cockpit voice recorder of the Beechcraft Model 390 (Premier 1) aircraft, which crashed near Bandar Elmina in Shah Alam here last week, has been sent to Singapore for analysis.
According to Transport Minister Anthony Loke, the memory puck, which was sent to the island republic yesterday, is being analysed by personnel from Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB).
“When we sent the cockpit voice recorder to our labs on Friday, the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) found that the recorder was in very bad condition.
“On Saturday, the recorder was opened to obtain the memory puck, which was still intact. Since we don’t have the tools needed to retrieve the recording data, the memory plug was sent to Singapore yesterday,” Loke said when met by reporters after an event at his ministry today.
The minister added that AAIB chief Colonel Tan Chee Kee of the Royal Malaysian Air Force and his team are also currently in Singapore as efforts are underway to retrieve the contents of the memory puck, which has the voice recording of the flight’s final 30 minutes before its crash.
“We cannot provide a timeframe yet as to when the recording will be retrieved successfully. The experts we have on hand are trying to overcome the technical problems presented by the condition of the memory puck.
“The experts are also looking at alternative methods that can be employed if the retrieval process currently underway is unsuccessful.”
Previously, Loke had assured that analysis findings from the cockpit voice recorder recovered from the private plane will be made public.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain had also said the plane only has a cockpit voice recorder and no flight data recorder, which is not uncommon for light aircraft.
The crash, which occurred last Thursday (August 17), resulted in the deaths of 10 individuals, including two crew members, six passengers, one motorcyclist and one motorcar driver.
The flight crashed two minutes before it was due to land at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang after its departure from the Langkawi International Airport.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia later said that the aircraft did not make any mayday calls prior to the accident. – August 21, 2023