Report: CAAM to investigate turn-back incident involving Tawau-bound MAS flight on April 3

KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) will open investigations into a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight that was forced to return to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) while en route to Tawau on April 3.

In a report by News Straits Times (NST), CAAM chief executive Captain Datuk Chester Voo Chee Soon was quoted as saying that the agency would be reviewing flight MH2664’s internal Flight Data Monitoring System (FDMS) to get to the root of the issue.

“Preliminary data has shown correct responses by the operating crew following the issue onboard.

“CAAM will continue to monitor the situation and will not compromise on any issues that might jeopardise the safety and security of airline operations and the public,” he was quoted as saying by NST.

Yesterday, it was reported that an MAS plane bound for Tawau turned around mid-flight after it was hit by both technical issues and bad weather, and landed safely at KLIA at 5.03pm on Sunday.

Voo said that CAAM had confirmed that a “Mandatory Occurrence Report” was submitted by MAS following the technical issue experienced on board.

He also said the agency had been in close contact with the airlines to ensure all technical safety matters were addressed, under all safety procedures and regulations, which includes pilot responses and airworthiness processes for the aircraft type.

“The aircraft made an air turn-back to Kuala Lumpur International Airport as per the required safety procedures and landed safely at 5.03pm.

“The pilot in command and co-pilot managed the technical issue safely and returned to Kuala Lumpur for the required maintenance action,” he said.

One of the passengers onboard, Halimah Nasoha, in a Facebook posting, said the Boeing 737-800 that took off from KLIA at 2.30pm took a “sharp dive”, about 30 minutes after take-off.

According to the Flightradar24 tracking application, the plane dived from 31,000 feet to 24,000 feet in a matter of seconds, with reports quoting passengers as saying they had momentarily “floated” out of their seats.