SHAH ALAM - The country may have a slim chance of determining the exact cause of the plane crash on Elmina City last Thursday if the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) data is severely damaged.
Former Malaysia Airlines (MAS) regional head pilot Datuk Captain Nik Ahmad Huzlan Nik Hussain said if the phase to extract data from the CVR failed, even after it has been sent to the manufacturer in Florida, United States (US), then all that could be done was speculation.
"If the CVR can be successfully extracted, then we can obtain information from the moment the aircraft took off from Langkawi until the accident occurred.
"To determine the exact cause, it indeed requires the CVR. Otherwise, we can only speculate based on incident information," he said when contacted on Tuesday.
Previously, Sinar Harian reported that the CVR on the Beechcraft Model 390 (Premier 1) aircraft in question failed to be extracted by the laboratory in Singapore.
In connection with this, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said it would be sent to the manufacturer in the United States (US) in the near future.
Nik Ahmad Huzlan explained that CVRs came in several types depending on the sophistication level of an aircraft.
"CVRs come in several types, and this crashed aircraft is categorised as a small aircraft."