KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — The Malaysian government finally declassified this month the 46-year-old report on the “Double Six” tragedy, releasing what investigators believed...
KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — The Malaysian government finally declassified this month the 46-year-old report on the “Double Six” tragedy, releasing what investigators believed caused the air crash on June 6, 1976 that killed all 11 onboard including then Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens and key state leaders.
In court documents for a lawsuit he filed in July 2022 to seek for the Malaysian investigation report to be made public in order to clear his name, Harris said he has been accused since 1976 over the tragedy, with statements by politicians and the media implying he was somehow responsible. Denying allegations that he was involved in causing the tragedy, Harris in his 2022 lawsuit referred to Sabah newspaper’s June 27, 2021 report, where he said the crash was likely due to the pilot’s error on the baggage loading which caused the plane to be tail-heavy and unbalanced, or the design of the plane which had a history of crashes and pilot deaths.
He was replying to Kinta MP Ngan Siong Hing, who had asked if the Dewan Rakyat would be told the outcome of the crash’s investigation and whether it was due to sabotage or technical reasons. Abdul Rahim also told Parliament that VVIPs and VIPs were not encouraged to board the same aircraft or helicopters since the 1976 crash, but said this was also subject to the passengers’ own awareness.
Here’s what the report said on the June 6, 1976 crash, where the sole pilot and all 10 passengers died when the plane went into a spin and nose-dived into the sea near the Kota Kinabalu airport. No evidence that the pilot was suffering from the effect of alcohol and drugs, he was reasonably fit. From investigators’ calculations and recovery efforts, 177 pounds of baggage were found in the front baggage compartment , while an estimated 325 pounds of baggage in the rear baggage compartment exceeded its maximum 198 pounds weight limit. A further 90 pounds of personal effects were distributed throughout the cabin.
Baggage belonging to some passengers of another Kota Kinabalu-bound flight were later discovered to have been loaded on the aircraft, based on what was found at the wreckage. So yes, the declassified report does match what the Malaysian government has been saying in Parliament since 1976.The Australian state-owned Government Aircraft Factories , which manufactured the Nomad aircraft in the “Double Six” tragedy, also carried out its own investigation and prepared a report which was not made public. GAF’s chief test pilot and chief designer had acted as technical advisers to help the seven-member team in Malaysia’s investigation.
“The information is still accorded security protection by the foreign government and it has asked that the information not be disclosed to the public,” the NAA said. On July 26, 2022, the NAA maintained its 2012 decision not to declassify the 45 pages in the GAF’s investigation report, stating similar reasons for not disclosing “sensitive” information.
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