KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 ― Data from the black box of the fatal helicopter crash in Semenyih on April 4 indicated that sole female passenger had been actively involved in the aircraft’s flight, the New Straits Times reported today.
Quoting a source, the English daily claimed that data from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) suggested that Kyrgyzstan national Aidana Baizieva was “actively participating” in flight operations.
The report also claimed that exchanges recorded between the 25-year-old tourism graduate and the helicopter's pilot, Captain Clifford William Fournier, were mainly on the flight's operations.
It was initially reported that Baizieva was the co-pilot on the doomed flight, but this was later dismissed by police who said there was no evidence to support the claim.
Previous reports quoted Selangor police chief Datuk Abdul Samah Mat as saying that Baizieva had a keen interest in aviation and frequently followed Fournier on helicopter rides.
According to the source quoted in today's report, the Eurocopter Dauphin AS365N2 helicopter was flying at around 2,000 feet over Semenyih when it experienced a sudden drop in altitude and all communications went dead.
The situation gives strong indication that there was an explosion on board before the helicopter crash landed, the source added.
Six people were killed when the helicopter crashed en route from Kuantan to Sungai Besi on April 4, including Rompin MP Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis and the prime minister’s private chief secretary Datuk Azlin Alias.
