KOTA KINABALU: Investigation and findings from the Kudat plane crash will be expanded to other airports across the country, to help enhance the safety and reliability of the country’s air transportation system.
Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the Kudat incident should not be viewed in isolation but used as an important lesson and a starting point to re-look at the entire aviation sector.
“It will not be limited to Kudat on what we are doing, because I would like to look at it in a bigger picture. Those two unfortunate people, who died, I hope would not die in vain,” he said at a press conference after visiting survivors of the plane crash currently being warded at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital II here, yesterday.
He said the Ministry would work closely with all the agencies involved, including MASwings, Malaysia Airport Berhad and the Civil Aviation Department and treat of the Kudat incident was similar to the recent bus tragedy in Genting Highlands, which killed dozens of passengers.
“The response was not limited only to Genting Highlands. It gave us a sense of urgency in our way to look at road safety, not only for the whole Genting Highlands but all the hotspots in the country and that is ongoing.
“I think we should do the same here. While looking at Kudat, we’ll have to look at all the other airports, at least in Sabah first then Sarawak and what not,” he said.
Hishammuddin said he was happy with the cooperation, commitment and coordination between all parties involved, not just in conducting the investigation but also in managing the aftermath of the incident.
He noted that all the agencies concerned have come together as a team and were doing their level best to ensure a similar incident could be better avoided in the future.
“I want to keep this momentum going. That’s what I have been doing in all my ministries. We do not look at any incident in isolation. In fact, on occasion like this we get everybody to come on board, even the public.
“Indeed this is something that cannot be lumped on the shoulder of the government and the ministry. It requires the cooperation of everybody.
“What has happened has happened, but hopefully we have done what we could so that it would not occur again. It’s a lesson for Sabah, lesson not only for the Sabah leadership and the federal leadership and ministries, but also for Sabahans, on how important it is for us to unite and work together on this,” he said.
On the latest update on the probe, Hishammuddin said the Transport Ministry had the overall lead over it because all the parties involved come under the umbrella of the ministry.
He suggested the investigation focus on three aspects, namely the technical, human, and environment factors.
He also informed that the pieces of the plane wreckage were being transported to a hangar in Kota Kinabalu to allow the investigating team to study if there were any technical factors that may have contributed to the crash.
He added that it might take up to a week to transport the wreckage here, the authorities concerned would be in a better position to estimate the time needed to investigate the other two aspects once all parts had arrived.
“We are lucky the pilot is well, he has a good memory of the incident. I had a good discussion with him. That alone has given me some idea of what happened. But I’m not an expert.
“So, I hope until the report comes out, and it won’t be very long, a month at the most, I do not want speculation on matters that do not even exist.
“Next we will study the weather during the day of the incident. Related parties will look into this and give me the report the soonest they can,” he said.
He added that MASwings involvement would focus more on the welfare aspect of victims and their family members, including the occupants of the house that the plane crashed into.
On the condition of the victims still being treated at the hospital, Hishammuddin said he was relieved that those in the ICU were not as bad as he had imagined.
“I am especially relieved to have met the two children, and their mother who was also in the plane crash. This is the happy occasion, for them to survive, and I have met with the mother who is in high spirit and could not wait to see her children.
“Nevertheless, we will continue our investigation and make sure leave no stone unturned. I have with me today not only representatives from the Transport Ministry who have set camp here for days, but also MASwings and MAB, and other related parties.
“I give my assurance that all of them will work closely under my own supervision to ensure that whatever need to be investigated are investigated thoroughly,” he said.