Elmina crash: What was in the final 15 seconds recorded aboard the ...

A view of the crash site in Bandar Elmina, Shah Alam August 17, 2023. ― Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

By Ida Lim

Friday, 16 Aug 2024 7:13 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — What were the final 15 seconds recorded on the plane that crashed nearly a year ago in Elmina, Shah Alam, Selangor, which killed all eight onboard and two bystanders?

What were the two pilots (Pilot-in-Command and his Second-in-Command) saying in the moments leading up to the fatal accident?

Today, for the first time ever, the transcript of recordings from the plane’s recovered cockpit voice recorder has been made available.

The transcript was released in the Transport Ministry’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) final report today on the crash, based on audio recordings in the plane’s cockpit voice recorder.

The transcript — which is almost five minutes long — starts at 2.44pm and 30.9 seconds, ending at 2.49pm and 11.5 seconds (which is also when the recording ended). The report stated the crash as being around 2.49pm.

What happened before the crash?

On August 17, 2023, the air traffic tower controller at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor gave the plane clearance at 2.48pm and 36 seconds to land on Runway 15, and the plane acknowledged the clearance about four seconds later at 2.48pm and 41 seconds. After that, the two pilots were recorded communicating to each other in the plane, with the pilot-in-command (PIC) at 2.48pm and 51 seconds then mentioning the words “check list”. Two seconds later, the second-in-command (SIC) two seconds then starts to go through the checklist before landing while the PIC acknowledges those checks. At 2.48pm and 56 seconds, the SIC mentions the words “lift dump unlocked. handle illuminated”. (According to the report, the flight crew’s “inadvertent” lifting of the lift dump caused the plane’s crash due to a loss of control. This was despite the flight panel’s written warning against such actions while still flying.) At around 2.49pm, the plane crashed at Persiaran Elmina and was destroyed following the ground impact and subsequent fire.

Here is the transcript of the last 15 seconds in the recording: