Crew error caused deadly Malaysian mid-air helicopter crash: ‘could not avoid the collision’ – navy probe

A mid-air collision between two Malaysian military helicopters that killed all 10 people on board was caused by crew error, the country’s navy said on Thursday.

The helicopters were taking part in a fly-past rehearsal on April 23 over a naval base outside the capital Kuala Lumpur when one chopper was seen clipping the rear rotor of another.

Both helicopters – a Eurocopter AS555SN Fennec and an AgustaWestland AW139 – went into a tailspin and crashed, killing everyone on board.

A probe by the navy found the Eurocopter model was not flying at its designated “altitude and direction”, causing it to enter into the flight path of the other helicopter.

“The crew of AgustaWestland AW139 were focused on changing flight path and could not avoid the collision,” said a navy statement, citing a final report by an investigation board.

Photos of the aircraft after the incident showed the Eurocopter model’s mangled wreckage on the naval base’s stadium track.

The AgustaWestland helicopter crashed at the base’s swimming pool area.

Investigators also found both aircraft to be airworthy, and the crew medically fit to fly, while weather that day were ideal, the statement said.

Helicopter crashes are not uncommon in the Southeast Asian nation.

In March, all four people on board a Malaysian coastguard helicopter were rescued after it crashed in the Strait of Malacca during training.

Two people were killed in 2020 when a pair of helicopters from the same Malaysian pilot school collided during a training flight, according to authorities.

In 2016, a deputy minister was among those killed when a Eurocopter AS350 crashed in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.