Bidor crash report raises query on pilots with US FAA licences

December 8, 2023

Bidor crash report raises query on pilots with US FAA licences

PETALING JAYA: A report on a fatal helicopter crash last year has brought into question the oversight of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) over the training of pilots with flying licences issued by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

In its report on the crash in Bidor, Perak, in September last year, the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the pilot, who was killed in the incident, was a Hong Kong national who had held a valid FAA flying licence.

“The accident was a combination of bad weather and a pilot who was neither well versed with flying in adverse weather conditions nor fully capable of handling the aircraft he was in command of,” said the report sighted by FMT.

The investigators also said the pilot had failed to depress the avionic push button, which was ascertained by engineers from Airbus Helicopters after the crash.

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“This was not activated, which led to the de-energising of the attitude indicator. This has very serious implications, especially in bad weather, since the avionic button controls the artificial horizon instrument,” the report said.

The attitude indicator, referred to as the gyro horizon or artificial horizon, informs the pilot of an aircraft of its orientation relative to Earth’s horizon. It is a primary guide in instrument meteorological conditions.

“One such instance was when he decided to climb when his path was blocked by bad weather, instead of keeping low and in sight of the ground and potential landing sites in case the weather deteriorated further,” they said.

The report added that statements from the ground crew had also shown that the pilot was not well versed with the operation of certain switches in the aircraft.

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“There were instances where he did not know how to switch off the landing lights and at times flew without depressing the avionic button,” it said.

“As such, CAAM is to look into the shortcomings of its oversight regarding the training of FAA licence holders flying in Malaysia.”

The AAIB has classified the accident as an unintended flight in instrument meteorological conditions, which is said to be the fifth highest cause of helicopter crashes in the world.

On Sept 11 last year, the Eurocopter EC120B owned by Flystar Global Sdn Bhd was on a private solo flight from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang, to Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh when it crashed at 12.16pm near Bidor.

The search-and-rescue operation launched soon after had to be postponed to the next morning because of inclement weather. The pilot was found alive about 20 hours later, but died from head injuries during the evacuation from the crash site.