KUALA LUMPUR: The Eurocopter AS555SN Fennec helicopter not flying at the set height and path has been identified as the main factor behind the naval helicopter crashes in Lumut.
"What we can conclude is Fennec was not at the set height and flight path," he told a press conference at KD Sri Gombak on Thursday .The secondary factor is that the"channelised attention" of the Agusta-Westland AW-139 crew was focused on the change of flight path and this limited their reaction time to avoid collision, he said.
"Samples of lubricant and fuel taken were inspected and it was confirmed to be normal by the Defence Science and Technology Institute ," he said. "Cooperation from the OEM was sought to assist the investigation as well. Airbus Helicopter confirmed that there was no equipment that had non-volatile memory on the Fennec to assist investigations," he said.
“For the Fennec we have four from the six that are in operation as one also currently is damaged. We are in the midst of increasing readiness of available aircraft and are trying to get allocation for new helicopters either through direct purchasing or leasing,”