The government has released the full report of the June 6, 1976, air crash in Kota Kinabalu which saw 11 people killed, including then Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad Stephens.
According to the report, the probable cause of the crash was that the GAF Nomad 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 to the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
The report also showed there were no elements of sabotage or engine failure.
This was shown in page 12 of the 21-page report.
Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government had agreed to declassify the full report of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 11 peoples more than 40 years ago.
The plane crashed off Sembulan while attempting to land at the international airport.
Besides Fuad, others killed in the crash were Datuk Peter Mojuntin (Local Government and Housing Minister), Datuk Salleh Sulong (Sabah Finance Minister) and Chong Thien Vun (Sabah Works and Communication Minister).
Also killed were Datuk Wahid Peter Andu (secretary to Sabah Finance Minister), Dr Syed Hussin Wafa (state Economic Planning Director) and Datuk Ishak Atan (private secretary to then-Federal Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
Fuad’s eldest son Johari and bodyguard Corporal Said Mohammad, as well as pilot Captain Ghandi Nathan were also killed in the crash. – NST