KUALA LUMPUR: Despite being an investigator for almost two decades, analysing the Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501 will be one of the toughest challenge for Nurcahyo Utomo, who knew the pilot personally.
The National Transportation Safety Committee investigator, Nurchayo said his previous experience listening to recording from black boxes over and over again can be disturbing and requires utmost mental strength.
“Listening to the playback of a black box involved in a crash is not like listening to music or a discussion.
“We are listening to a recording that represents the last moments before the crash and it is disturbing. There are times where the investigators would get unnerved listening to the recording,” he told Viva.co.id.
Analysing the recording while listening to their final words like “Allahuakhbar” repeatedly, give the investigators goose bumps, Nurcahyo said.
“It is as if we can feel them... Allahuakhbar, Allahuakhbar were the last words said before they died,” he said referring to his experience analising black boxes from past crashes.
“Despite the heavy heart we could not escape from the task. Hearing to the last conversation would be the key to reveal the cause of the AirAsia crash.
"We will know what really happened from the conversations between pilot and co-pilot prior to the crash," he said.
The task of analysing the black boxes would be harder for Nurcahyo who was a junior to the pilot, Captain Iriyanto.
“Indriyanto was my senior and he is the one who taught me how to fly.
“I could not imagine how am I going to listen to his last words,” he said.