MH17 downing leaves me numb while coping with MH370 loss - Azharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR - Feeling numb. That was how the former director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, felt when he learned that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 had been shot down over conflict-hit eastern Ukraine, a decade ago.

"I just went numb... just four months earlier, we had lost MH370. At the time of the MH17 news, I was in China, as part of a delegation accompanying the newly appointed Minister of Transport, for a two-week meeting with his counterpart, where MH370 was a central topic of discussion.

"Yet, we were struck by more tragic news. Another Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane had met with disaster, crashing with no survivors,” he said, in an interview with Bernama, today.

MH17 took off from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at 12.31pm local time (7.31 pm Malaysia time), before Ukrainian Air Traffic Control (ATC) informed MAS that they had lost contact with the plane a few hours later.

The plane exploded after being hit by a missile, killing all 283 passengers, from 17 countries, including 198 Dutch nationals, 43 Malaysians, 38 Australians, 10 British citizens, and 15 MAS crew members.

Azharuddin, who led the DCA for 11 years starting in 2007, recalled feeling 'surprised' upon arriving at Beijing International Airport, China, at 12.30pm on July 17, 2014 as MAS officials greeted him and promptly handed him a boarding pass for the same plane back to the capital.

After spending over six hours on a flight, his primary concern was the last-minute cancellation of the Ministers of Transport meeting. However, his unease grew when an official asked, 'Do you know something is going on in KL (Kuala Lumpur)?'

"I immediately switched on my mobile phone, which had been turned off during boarding. It was then flooded with incoming messages. Before I could check them, my wife called to inform me that one MAS flight had crashed. An officer also showed me news about MH17 on his smartphone. The influx of questions and information was overwhelming,” he recalled.

Temerloh, Pahang-born Azharuddin added that they headed straight to the MAS operations centre upon their early morning arrival, on July 18, 2014. One of the unforgettable moments was meeting the relatives of MH17's passengers and crew who were already there.

"At that point, I struggled to find words to comfort the victims' next of kin, as everyone knew their loved ones were lost. Understandably, they sought certainty about when the victims' remains could be repatriated. At that time, all I could promise was to do my best, considering the crash site's turbulent circumstances.

Azharuddin, together with the transport minister and officials from the Transport Ministry and MAS, flew to Kiev, Ukraine, with the same luggage he had brought for Beijing.

In Kiev, they received news that they were not allowed to visit the scene. After several attempts, Malaysia was finally permitted to send three representatives to the scene, following approval from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

After discussions, Azharuddin said that the allowed 'quota' comprised DCA officer Captain Philip J. Selvaraju, aircraft engineer Naemy Fahmy Mustafa, and MAS Maintenance and Engineering director Azhari Dahlan. They had to use a bulletproof four-wheel-drive vehicle, and pass through several roadblocks, manned by various rebel forces, to reach the location.

"They (the representatives) are trained in conducting air accident investigations and know what needs to be done, such as taking pictures and measuring the wreckage of the plane before it is removed or damaged. Additionally, they must make an initial report, and most importantly, retrieve the black box, which is crucial for the investigation.

"What we didn't know at the time was that our country's leader had secretly instructed a Malaysian team to enter the scene of the incident, covertly through the Russian border, to secure not just the bodies of the victims, but also the downed aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder,” he said.

A team of 12, known as 'The Dozen Persons', including commando personnel, and led by the National Security Council (MKN) principal secretary, Col Mohd Sakri Hussin, successfully completed the mission after obtaining permission from rebel leader Alexander Borodai in Donetsk, Ukraine, on July 21, 2014.

Azharuddin said that while the three Malaysian representatives were at the scene of the incident, he and the Malaysian delegation in Kiev anxiously awaited any reports of the developments. Their phone calls were often interrupted by the sounds of bomb explosions and gunfire.

Commenting on the black box, Azharuddin said that he was informed that the MH17 black box was being sought after by various parties. As a result, specific instructions were issued for the black box to be removed from the location as soon as possible, which the Malaysian special team successfully carried out. The black box was to be handed over to him.

"They boarded a train (carrying the black box) from Donetsk to Kharkiv, after being advised not to use the road, as they were at risk of being arrested by those seeking the black box. The train journey took more than eight hours. We remained in constant contact to ensure their whereabouts, and there was an anxious moment when telephone contact was lost for an hour,” he said, praising the efficiency of the Malaysian representatives in securing the black box.

Upon arrival in Kharkiv, Azharuddin said that the special team was flown to Kiev, in an aircraft provided by the United Nations (UN). The MH17 black box was kept in a bag carried by one of the team members, who ensured that it never left his sight throughout the journey.

The black box was then taken to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), in Farnborough, United Kingdom, using a special aircraft of the Belgian Air Force. However, the journey was also tested, as a change of planes in Brussels, Belgium, was necessary because the pilot's flight hours were about to expire, before finally landing at an air force base in the United Kingdom.

Azharuddin said that he was one of the first individuals to listen to the black box recording of MH17. He said that there was nothing suspicious from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) or the flight data recorder (FDR), with the data showing that the plane was flying at an altitude of 33,000 feet, and the engines were in good condition.

"Everything was fine until suddenly the CVR and FDR recordings cut off like a broken radio at 4:20:03 pm Ukraine time, or 10:20:03 pm Malaysia time, leading to the initial conclusion that there was an explosion, which resulted in the aircraft system stopping, and the aircraft having been shot down, based on the condition of the wreckage,” he said, adding that the MH17 FDR only recorded data for about three hours before the tragedy occurred.

The tragedy put Azharuddin on the spot when he was questioned why the MAS plane went through the airspace where there was a conflict. He explained that the airspace is a very busy flight path, with more than 60 planes passing through it daily, and that on the day of the incident, planes from India and Singapore also used the same airspace.

"The incident increased vigilance toward air safety. If the party which controls the airspace is experiencing a conflict, then it needs to declare the matter or close the airspace. Additionally, international authorities aware of unsafe areas need to inform the airlines, so that risk assessments can be carried out,” he said.

The tragedy also deeply moved Azharuddin, who appreciated the support from various parties, including the international aviation community. They extended help from the beginning, and equally wanted justice to be done for the passengers of MH17, MAS, and Malaysia, who are still facing the loss of MH370. - BERNAMA