Report Reveals That Tragic Private Jet Crash in Elmina Last Year Was Caused by Human Error

The Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its final report on its investigations into an air crash involving a private jet at Elmina, Shah Alam, in August last year.

The report released by the Transport Ministry on Friday (Aug 16) concluded that human error by the flight crew was the primary cause of the accident and that the two-man flight crew accidentally extended the lift dump spoilers during a pre-landing checklist routine.

Additionally, the report said other contributing factors led to the accident, namely deviations from standard operating procedures, inadequate crew training, regulatory grey areas, and deficiencies in communication and decision-making.

“This action led to a sudden loss of lift, resulting in a catastrophic loss of control and the subsequent crash. This aviation occurrence is coded as a Loss of Control – Inflight (LOC-I).” said the report.

“According to the cockpit voice recording, while running through the checklist items before landing, the SIC mistakenly stated one of the checklist items as ‘Fuel Dump’ instead of ‘Lift Dump’ according to the aircraft’s checklist.”

As such, insufficient crew training and awareness regarding the operation of the lift dump system contributed to the tragedy, as did the deviation of established protocols from the crew seating arrangement.

The report added, “The SIC’s unfamiliarity with the specific risks associated with the lift dump system led to the inadvertent extension of the spoilers.”

“The absence of specific briefings or warnings about the lift dump system operation and the decision to deviate from standard seating protocols underscored deficiencies in communication and decision-making.”

The six-seater Beechcraft Model 390 Premier 1 aircraft, registered N28JV, crashed near Elmina, Shah Alam, on August 17 last year during its approach into Subang Airport from Langkawi.

The crash killed all eight people onboard along with two road users.

Read the full report here.

Stay tuned for more updates!

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