KUALA LUMPUR: Australia's investigation into the Double Six air crash in 1976 which killed then Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens and 10 others reached the same findings as Malaysia's probe.
This was that the GAF Nomad aircraft was being operated illegally and that the pilot had allowed for the aircraft to be overloaded in the aft, or rear, section.
These were among the findings of the Australian disaster report tribunal on the incident, known as the Double Six tragedy, which was released by the Australian government today.
The 11 people were on a flight from Labuan when the aircraft crashed in Sembulan while approaching the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
The finding was based on a report issued by the aircraft manufacturer, Government Aircraft Factories (GAF), which stated that Sabah Air had submitted the draft of its operations manual in 1975, which the then-Civil Aviation Department (CAD) never approved.
"In this regard, Sabah Air was operating illegally," read the report.
The report investigations showed not just a "singularly poor operation" by Sabah Air, but also a "failure on the part of the CAD" to fulfil its obligations as the local certification authority.
"In the subsequent paragraphs of this section, this information is detailed as relevant to the accident because as will clearly be seen, an accident was bound to happen sooner or later," it said.
The findings concurred with that of Malaysia's recently declassified report, which also suggested that the Nomad aircraft was operating illegally.
Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Dr Justin Lee, in a tweet on Wednesday, said the records have been declassified and were available on the National Archives of Australia website.
"The Double Six accident was tragic, and we honour the memory of those who lost their lives and the enormous loss felt by their loved ones.
"The Australian Government welcomes the Malaysian Government's release of its report into the Double Six tragedy on April 6, 2023," he said.
Australia's report comes in the wake of Malaysia's release of the official report on April 12.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had previously announced that the government would declassify its report on the crash.
Malaysia, in its report, had stated that there were no elements of sabotage or engine failure, while pathological tests on the pilot Captain Gandhi J. Nathan proved that he was reasonably fit at the time and not suffering from the effects of alcohol or drugs.
According to the report, the probable cause of the crash was that the GAF Nomad aircraft had been overloaded in the aft, or rear, section.
The report said the aircraft had a "low centre of gravity position well outside the aft limit", causing the control column to run out of forward range when the nose pitched up when the flaps were applied to the 25 degree position on final approach Kota Kinabalu.
The report also cast doubt on the skill of the pilot.
The investigation of the pilot's history Indicated that he had some difficulty in passing both ground and air tests.
He only succeeded in gaining a Nomad endorsement on his licence in February 1976 following a series of poor write-ups from the company check pilots.
The report also suggested that Sabah Air failed to obtain approval for the Nomad.
Apart from Fuad, the others who died included state ministers Datuk Salleh Sulong, Datuk Peter Mojuntin and Chong Thien Vun.