IPOH: "I am worried of people's perception that it was a pilot error that the helicopter crashed. I did my best to make sure that I executed the 'safest' emergency landing."
These were the words of Captain Fedzrol Norazam, the 43-year-old pilot of the helicopter which crash landed in Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, yesterday.
Fedzrol also apologised to the five Health Ministry staff onboard in the 1pm incident.
"People will always judge you. And I would like to apologise to the other victims of this incident. I know that this was in the hands of Allah, but half of it might be my mistake. We never know.
"But praise to Allah, everyone is safe," said the father of four from Kuantan, when met at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB) here.
Recalling the ordeal, Fedzrol said during the incident, they were heading back to Ipoh and could not take the normal flight route via Kampung Raja on the highlands due to heavy rain.
He was forced to divert to the closest gap with no rain, which was in Brinchang.
"While heading there, sudden strong winds from below kept pushing the helicopter upwards. I could feel something was wrong but I didn't tell the passengers as I did not want to cause panic.
"I tried to turn around, but it was getting difficult to control the helicopter and then, again, the wind started to push the helicopter closer to the hills," he said.
Fedzrol said he maintained the 5,000ft altitude, but the helicopter was swaying left and right, and that he had the helicopter's engine at full power, but it was still not stable.
"The speed was reducing, and the winds were getting stronger. I knew I had to perform an emergency landing.
"I needed to make sure that during the emergency landing, the tail hit first to ensure that the cabin was safe, but maybe it was not a smooth-sailing landing," he added.
Fedzrol said he was the last person to come out of the helicopter as he would have probably blacked out for between three and five minutes.
"I heard someone calling me, 'Captain! Captain!', And when I opened my eyes, my seatbelt was still fastened and my hand was still gripping the handle.
"My head was bleeding badly. I felt dizzy for about 10 minutes before I could speak up. I asked everyone if they were okay.
"As the captain, I needed to carry out my responsibility under any circumstances," he said.
Fedzrol added that such an incident would not deter him from flying again.
"When can I fly again? I have no problem as I know my capability and my profession. If you ask me to fly tomorrow, I have no problem," he added.
Yesterday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia confirmed that it had received information on the crash involving an Airbus AS 355 F2 aircraft with the registration number 9M-SSW in Cameron Highlands at 1.03pm.
All five passengers onboard the helicopter were from the Kinta District Health Office and were part of a Flying Doctor Unit who were on their way back from a routine health check visit at a remote Orang Asli village in Kelantan.
They were Dr Munirah Abd Rahman, 53 (medical officer); Zainurol Fazlan Zainudin, 40 (public health assistant); Muhamad Azlan Hanifah, 31 (medical officer's assistant); Norhasikin Abu Seman, 38 (staff nurse) and Hashilawati Hussin, 43 (nurse).
Fedzrol suffered internal bleeding; Dr Munirah (backbone and abdomen injuries); Azlan (face injury); Norhasikin (broken right leg); Hashilawati (knee and right shoulder injuries) and Zainurol Fazlan sustained a light injury.