Almost 40 years after another mystery involving a Malaysian aircraft, Australian authorities prepare to investigate a new one
KOTA KINABALU: In a curious twist to the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Australian authorities have again been drawn into an aircraft mystery with its roots in Malaysia.
More than 37 years ago, a Nomad aircraft, a twin-engine turboprop that can seat 12 passengers and two crew, plunged to the ground on its approach to the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here killing all 11 on board.
The incident came to be known as the Double-Six Crash or Double-Six Tragedy due to the fact it took place on June 6, 1976. The plane was flying in from Labuan when it crashed as it came in to land. Among those killed was Fuad Stephens, the Chief Minister of Sabah at that time.
The reasons behind the crash remain unknown. Immediately after the accident there were allegations of foul play. The political and economic circumstances at the time did not help.
The Australian government sent a team of four investigators to assist in finding the cause of the accident. Mechanical failure was ruled out. The cause of the crash remains a mystery while the original report on the incident remains classified.
With no real closure, conspiracy theories have circulated ever since and even been encouraged by ham-handed methods to curb debate on the various anomalies that were exposed prior to and after the crash and new information that has come to light.
A couple of years ago the crash was back in the news after one of those who was supposed to be on the ill-fated flight spoke about his lucky break. It led to a legal suit.
Now the appointment of Australia as Malaysia’s “accredited representative” in the investigation into missing Boeing 777-200 bound for Beijing with 227 passengers brings this nearly four decade-old mystery back to the surface.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, made the “accreditation” announcement on his visit to Perth yesterday, even as the search for the missing plane was “further refined” and was shifted to the north.
Asked his views if could be any parallels drawn from the investigation of the Nomad crash and the current missing airliner probe, former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee said the two incidents were vastly different.
Yong who was sued for asking for a reopening of the investigation of the Nomad crash to help to determine the truth behind the tragedy following new information, said any investigation of the missing airliner would be unlike anything that has taken place before.
In the first instance, he said, the Nomad tragedy was a straightforward crash while the current one is still officially recorded as a missing flight with no evidence of a crash.
The Australian authorities’ involvement in the 1976 crash investigation was due to the fact that the plane was manufactured in that country, Yong said in a telephone interview.
“In this case, it would be similar only if Boeing came in to investigate.
“But this is not like the Nomad tragedy. To use (Prime Minister) Najib’s words, ‘flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean’,” said Yong to stress that any investigation of the missing airliner would be handicapped by the lack of evidence.
The former chief minister also noted that in the instance of the Nomad tragedy, the Malaysian government requested that the Australian authorities not release the findings of their investigations, something they would not be able to do in the present case.
Yong said he believes Australia has been given special status by the Malaysian government because the missing aircraft is believed to have “ended its flight” in an area near that country.
But Malaysia’s move is also believed to have come after a group of countries involved in the search pushed to move the probe to another country after witnessing the “chaotic handling” of the disappearance by Kuala Lumpur.
Najib said that while Malaysia will continue to head the investigation as required by international convention, Australia would now be an “accredited representative”.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that Australia is apparently one of several nations deemed as an “accredited representative”, adding that this is a step towards shifting the investigation’s base there.
“We will continue to work closely with the Australian government to draw up a comprehensive agreement on the search,” Najib was quoted as saying at a press conference in Perth yesterday.
In a joint statement with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Najib paid tribute to all those involved in the search for the missing aircraft.
“Differences have been set aside as 26 nations have united behind a common cause, the disappearance of MH370 is without precedent,” Najib had said.
The new search area in the southern Indian Ocean is about 200 kilometres north of the search area identified by authorities last week and is more than 200,000 square kilometres in size.
While Abbott described the search as “the most difficult in human history”, Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar had something more alarming for those waiting for closure.
Khalid told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday: “At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident.”
That’s something those who have struggled with the mystery of the Double-Six Tragedy are all too well aware. - MT
Borneo Insider
KOTA KINABALU: In a curious twist to the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Australian authorities have again been drawn into an aircraft mystery with its roots in Malaysia.
More than 37 years ago, a Nomad aircraft, a twin-engine turboprop that can seat 12 passengers and two crew, plunged to the ground on its approach to the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here killing all 11 on board.
The incident came to be known as the Double-Six Crash or Double-Six Tragedy due to the fact it took place on June 6, 1976. The plane was flying in from Labuan when it crashed as it came in to land. Among those killed was Fuad Stephens, the Chief Minister of Sabah at that time.
The reasons behind the crash remain unknown. Immediately after the accident there were allegations of foul play. The political and economic circumstances at the time did not help.
The Australian government sent a team of four investigators to assist in finding the cause of the accident. Mechanical failure was ruled out. The cause of the crash remains a mystery while the original report on the incident remains classified.
With no real closure, conspiracy theories have circulated ever since and even been encouraged by ham-handed methods to curb debate on the various anomalies that were exposed prior to and after the crash and new information that has come to light.
A couple of years ago the crash was back in the news after one of those who was supposed to be on the ill-fated flight spoke about his lucky break. It led to a legal suit.
Now the appointment of Australia as Malaysia’s “accredited representative” in the investigation into missing Boeing 777-200 bound for Beijing with 227 passengers brings this nearly four decade-old mystery back to the surface.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, made the “accreditation” announcement on his visit to Perth yesterday, even as the search for the missing plane was “further refined” and was shifted to the north.
Asked his views if could be any parallels drawn from the investigation of the Nomad crash and the current missing airliner probe, former Sabah chief minister Yong Teck Lee said the two incidents were vastly different.
Yong who was sued for asking for a reopening of the investigation of the Nomad crash to help to determine the truth behind the tragedy following new information, said any investigation of the missing airliner would be unlike anything that has taken place before.
In the first instance, he said, the Nomad tragedy was a straightforward crash while the current one is still officially recorded as a missing flight with no evidence of a crash.
The Australian authorities’ involvement in the 1976 crash investigation was due to the fact that the plane was manufactured in that country, Yong said in a telephone interview.
“In this case, it would be similar only if Boeing came in to investigate.
“But this is not like the Nomad tragedy. To use (Prime Minister) Najib’s words, ‘flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean’,” said Yong to stress that any investigation of the missing airliner would be handicapped by the lack of evidence.
The former chief minister also noted that in the instance of the Nomad tragedy, the Malaysian government requested that the Australian authorities not release the findings of their investigations, something they would not be able to do in the present case.
Yong said he believes Australia has been given special status by the Malaysian government because the missing aircraft is believed to have “ended its flight” in an area near that country.
But Malaysia’s move is also believed to have come after a group of countries involved in the search pushed to move the probe to another country after witnessing the “chaotic handling” of the disappearance by Kuala Lumpur.
Najib said that while Malaysia will continue to head the investigation as required by international convention, Australia would now be an “accredited representative”.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that Australia is apparently one of several nations deemed as an “accredited representative”, adding that this is a step towards shifting the investigation’s base there.
“We will continue to work closely with the Australian government to draw up a comprehensive agreement on the search,” Najib was quoted as saying at a press conference in Perth yesterday.
In a joint statement with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Najib paid tribute to all those involved in the search for the missing aircraft.
“Differences have been set aside as 26 nations have united behind a common cause, the disappearance of MH370 is without precedent,” Najib had said.
The new search area in the southern Indian Ocean is about 200 kilometres north of the search area identified by authorities last week and is more than 200,000 square kilometres in size.
While Abbott described the search as “the most difficult in human history”, Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar had something more alarming for those waiting for closure.
Khalid told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday: “At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident.”
That’s something those who have struggled with the mystery of the Double-Six Tragedy are all too well aware. - MT
Borneo Insider
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