The man behind the investigation
PETALING JAYA: The head of the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team, Datuk Kok Soo Chon, is the former Civil Aviation Department director-general.
Soon after the MH370 plane disappeared, Kok was appointed as investigator in charge of the international investigation team set up to look into the tragedy.
He now heads the team comprising experts from, among others, the US National Transport Safety Board and China’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Department, Britain’s Air Accidents Investigations Branch, France’s Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau, the Australia Transport Safety Bureau, aircraft manufacturer Boeing and British satellite communications company Inmarsat.
It also has representatives from Singapore and Indonesia.
An engineer by training and profession, Kok served as DCA head from 1999 to 2007, taking over from his predecessor, Datuk Zaini Omar.
Prior to his posting at the department, he spent four years as general manager for the construction of the KL International Airport (KLIA) until it was completed in 1998 where he also helped build air traffic services.
He was also a former permanent representative of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) council in Montreal.
The 64-year-old, who holds an electrical engineering degree, is also a qualified lawyer with LLB (Hons) from the University of London with a practising certificate from the Legal Board of Malaysia.
He joined the civil service in 1974 as an electrical engineer in a hospital.