Plane crash probe: Singapore helping Malaysia authorities retrieve data from cockpit voice recorder

Asia

Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder was sent to Singapore for analysis.

Members of Malaysia's Special Disaster and Emergency Response Team collect debris at the crash site on Aug 18, 2023. (Photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)

SINGAPORE: Singapore authorities are assisting Malaysia with investigations into a plane crash that happened last week.

The aircraft's cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was sent to Singapore for analysis after the Malaysian Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) faced difficulties retrieving the data from the charred CVR, said Malaysia's transport minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook on Monday (Aug 21).

Last Thursday, a Beechcraft Model 390 aircraft exploded into a fireball on impact when it crashed onto a highway near Shah Alam in the Malaysian state of Selangor.

All eight people on board - six passengers and two flight crew - as well as two motorists on the four-lane road were killed.

Mr Loke said experts in Singapore would retrieve data from the final 30 minutes of voice recording captured in the memory puck before the crash happened.

"Since we do not have the equipment to retrieve the data, the memory puck was sent to Singapore yesterday," he said, adding that the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore would help to retrieve the data.

A spokesperson from Singapore's Ministry of Transport (MOT) told CNA that the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau of Singapore is assisting its Malaysian counterpart with the investigation.

Mr Loke added that he hoped all parties would give the authorities time to get an analysis of the recording.

"We do not know how long (it would take) but we are doing our best to get the recording. We will make an announcement once it is available. We want to do it fast but there are technical issues to overcome,” he said.

A report on the preliminary investigation into the plane crash, prepared by the AAIB with the help of the United States National Transportation Safety Board, would be released within a month, said Mr Loke.

"(United States National Transportation Safety Board) representatives were asked to assist in the probe because the aircraft was registered in the US."

Aviation experts from the US were also at the site of the plane crash on Monday to search for clues into the incident.

The experts were expected to be in Malaysia for a period of seven to 10 days to help in the investigation, said Shah Alam district police chief ACP Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim.

The experts arrived in Malaysia on Sunday. ACP Mohd Iqbal said the operation to remove the wreckage will be completed by Monday. However, if it was not possible, officers will be stationed at the crash site to monitor the situation.

Eight AAIB officers were also involved in the investigation.

Earlier, Terengganu chief minister Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the plane crash could have been caused by a problem on the wings.

Based on visual evidence available to the public, the problem may be caused by either an aileron failure or a combination of both rudder and elevator failure, said Dr Ahmad, an aerospace engineer by trade and the former head of the Aerospace Department of Universiti Putra Malaysia.

He added that he said the aircraft failures could also originate from various problems or a single issue.

These include maintenance issues, plane structural integrity failures, structural stress and cyclic fatigue, engine failures, flight control issues, avionics problems as well as human factors.