Officials puzzled how copter went missing

http://thestaronline.com/news/story.asp?file=/2004/7/16/nation/8450837&sec=nation

Friday July 16, 2004

Officials puzzled how copter went missing

KOTA KINABALU: Department of Civil Aviation officials are working on several theories why the seven-seater Bell 206 helicopter went missing in the thick forest of the Sarawak-Kalimantan highlands.

The Sarawak state-owned helicopter went missing after it took off from the Bario airfield at 12.53pm on a 17-minute flight to Bakelalan.

The helicopter, which can fly for three hours on a full tank at a speed of 180kph, was piloted by experienced ex-RMAF officer Capt Samsuddin Hashim, 45.

He joined Hornbill Skyways in 1995 and knew the terrain well.

The helicopter was equipped with an Emergency Location Beacon (ELB) that could send signals of up to eight kilometres in the event of a crash.

There were also two satellite phones in the hands of the six passengers, including State Assistant Minister Dr Judson Sakai Tagal.

The weather from 10am that day was described as bad, with rain clouds over the highlands.

Aviation officials said the helicopter made its last contact from Bario to the Kota Kinabalu control tower to inform them that it was airborne.

“We are puzzled why its ELB signals were not picked up by four full satellite searchers and other aircraft if the helicopter had crashed.

“Normally, on impact, the ELB will be triggered off,” said an official.

The officials said the helicopter could have encountered technical or engine problems and crashed through the thick canopy of trees of about 50m high, making any wreckage difficult to see from the air.

Another possibility was that the pilot might have encountered a down draft during bad weather and could not pull the helicopter up, forcing it to crash.

Due to thick clouds, the pilot could have taken a southerly direction towards Kalimantan instead of flying a straight path from Bario to Bakelalan.

It was also possible, they said, that the pilot could have tried to land at an abandoned airstrip such as Pa Lungan near where some villagers initially claimed they saw a low-flying object and heard a small explosion.

They also said the pilot might have failed to make contact if the helicopter had crash-landed in an inaccessible area.

But they could survive as there were abundant water sources, the officials added.

They said Dr Tagal, a Lun Bawang native and another passenger, Datuk Marcus Raja, a Kelabit, were familiar with the terrain in the Bakelalan and Bario highlands as both their indigenous communities originated from there.