MAS given 2 days to furnish cabinet with report on MH192
PUBLISHED ONApril 21, 2014 12:44 AM
SEPANG, Malaysia - Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has been given two days to furnish cabinet with a preliminary report on the Bangalore-bound flight MH192 which was forced to make an emergency landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) some three hours after it took off the runway.
Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said MAS did not have a reason to be unable to provide cabinet with the briefing behind the incident as the Boeing 737-800 aircraft had landed safely, unlike the ill-fated MH370 flight that had yet to be retrieved since March 8.
Hishammuddin said the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) was also asked to provide the cabinet with a report on the matter as soon as possible.
He said although the aircraft, which was piloted by captain Nor Adam Azmi Abdul Razak and co-pilot Prakash Kumar, had landed safely, such incidents should not have happened.
This was why he had also asked the DCA and the police Special Branch to conduct a review on the national carrier's standard operating procedures concerning their flights.
However, Hishammuddin lauded the MH192 pilots and cabin crew for showing outstanding leadership in handling the ordeal.
"I am very proud of the pilots and crew members who kept the passengers informed and calm until the aircraft landed without incident," he told reporters after meeting the crew members at KLIA's Flight Management Building, this morning.
Hishammuddin, when asked, said he did not discount the possibility of sabotage following the incidents that have struck the national carrier in recent weeks.
The minister had earlier visited the passengers who were brought to KLIA's gate G2 arrival hall for processing after evacuation from the plane before they were transferred to several nearby hotels by three busses.
Hishammuddin said the passengers had expressed relief and gratitude to him over the MH192 crew's professionalism.
Flight MH192, which departed from KLIA about 10.10pm last night had made an air-turnback after the pilot was reported to have detected problems with its frontal landing gear during take-off.
The aircraft made the emergency landing about 1:56am this morning.