‘CLAIM CAN AFFECT AVIATION INDUSTRY’
Passengers will be worried about safety, says expert
TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s allegation that his plane was sabotaged has prompted fears of a backlash against the country’s aviation industry.
Aviation analyst Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said this could cause outsiders to have misgivings about the growing transport sector.
He said the allegation could affect the credibility of local aircraft and give the aviation industry a negative image, adding that passengers would also be worried about safety.
“This claim of sabotage causes misgivings among outsiders.
“It is not right as the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia and related parties have their own protocol in investigating such incidents.
“Saying that the plane was sabotaged before any investigation or official news (has been made by) the authorities can badly affect the national aviation industry.”
Samsuri was commenting on Dr Mahathir’s claim that his private plane, which he was supposed to board to Langkawi, was sabotaged.
He said the former prime minister’s rejection of the authority’s investigation was unacceptable.
“How can there be allegation of sabotage? The pilot cannot possibly know the source of the problem in such a short time, so how could the passenger?”
Malaysia Airlines Bhd former regional head pilot Datuk Captain Nik Ahmad Huzlan Nik Hussain said sabotaging planes was complicated and rare.
He said it was not easy for individuals to get close to a plane to commit such acts as it was always kept under tight security.
“Routine checks by pilots and engineers before a plane takes off, such as inspections on the aircraft’s body, lights, oil residue and tyre pressure, also make the possibility of sabotage harder.
“When the system is ignited, alarms will go off, indicating that there is damage to it (the plane). A more common sabotage happens through the use of bombs. But, it is rare for a plane to be sabotaged because the truth is that it is not an easy thing to do.”
This claim of sabotage causes misgivings among outsiders. DR AHMAD SAMSURI MOKHTAR Aviation analyst