PETALING JAYA, Aug 12 — The operator of a Bell 206L4 helicopter that crashed in Bentong, Pahang, on February 6 failed to follow safety procedures for hot refuelling, the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has found in its preliminary report.
In the report published on its website, AAIB said that video from the day before the crash showed the aircraft hovering with its rotor blades running while moving closer to a ground engineer standing beneath the main rotor disc.
This, it said, was in breach of rules requiring crew to wait at a safe distance until a thumbs-up signal from the pilot.
To note, hot refuelling is the process of filling an aircraft’s fuel tanks while its engine is running.
The AAIB deemed that unsafe actions by both the pilot and the engineer, combined with the absence of a site safety officer from the lessee, contributed to complacency and heightened risk.
The report also recommended a full mental and physical health assessment for the pilot and updates to operational manuals to explicitly define safe distances during landing approaches.
The Indonesian-registered PK-ZUV, operated by PT Zaveryna Utama under a wet lease to MHS Aviation Berhad, had been supporting a Tenaga Nasional Berhad transmission tower construction project.
On the day of the accident, the helicopter was returning to a helicopter landing site for refuelling when it descended to release a cargo sling and attempted to reposition towards fuel drums.
It made abnormal ground contact, lost control, overturned, and caught fire, with its rotor blades striking the 27-year-old engineer, who died at the scene.
The 44-year-old pilot suffered minor injuries.
The AAIB stressed that the probable cause will be determined in the final report.
