Malaysian crash clues sought

Malaysian crash clues sought

TAWAU, Malaysia (Reuter): Investigators were sifting through the wreckage of the Malaysian Airlines' Fokker 50 yesterday for clues to the crash that killed 34 people, officials said.

Officials from the Department of Civil Aviation, Malaysia Airports, Malaysian Airlines System (MAS), the police and fire services searched the scene of Friday's crash at Tawau on the northeastern tip of Borneo Island in the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Officials said 19 of the 53 people onboard the Fokker survived the crash, while nine squatters were injured, two critically, when the plane ploughed into their houses.

"We are gathering evidence. But we have not yet analyzed it," said Capt. Syed Zainal Mohamad of the Department of Civil Aviation.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has ordered a full probe into the disaster, the biggest in Malaysian air history after a hijacked Boeing 737 crashed in 1977, killing 100.

Those who saw the crash said the plane landed, overshot the runway and ploughed into the squatters' colony at the northern end.

"Seems like the pilot felt the runway was not enough to land, so he tried to take off again but was unable to gather enough power," said an airport official who asked not to be identified.

There was no official information from the government agencies investigating the incident or from the airline.

MAS Chairman Tajudin Ramli told reporters on Saturday night that the black box that records flight details had been handed over to the Department of Civil Aviation. He did not say when the results of the investigation were expected.

Tajudin said he had been briefed by the safety department of the airline on possible reasons for the crash but declined to reveal any details. "At this point of time we would like to leave it to the experts," he said.

Earlier, the MAS chairman had said the twin-propeller plane was checked by a team of Dutch experts just two days before the crash and given a clean bill of health.

Most officials said the 1.7 kilometer airstrip was adequate for the plane. "It is not a very long runway but experts tell us that for a Fokker it is more than comfortable," said Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Abdul Ghapur Salleh.

At the Tawau Hospital several forensic experts and a forensic orthodontist were struggling to identify the remains of those killed.

A hospital spokesman told Reuters 10 bodies had been identified and "if by the end of the day we are not able to identify them, we will try to send them to Kuala Lumpur for DNA testing".