Malaysian state of Sarawak holds the dubious record of having the most number of helicopter crashes in the country in the past seven years, which saw 23 people perished in the flames.The latest incident involved an Erickson Sky Crane, which was used for carrying logs, last Saturday.Its American pilot William Charles Scott died in the aerial logging mishap which took place about 50 miles south of Long Akah in Ulu Baram.
Fellow American co-worker, David William Bergin, survived the nightmare with spinal injuries, bruises and knocks.
Following this incident, The Borneo Post decided to take a look back at helicopter mishaps in the state over the years – starting with the crash of a Bell helicopter at Mt Murud on July 17, 2003.
That ill-fated Bell 206 helicopter crashed within minutes after taking off from a timber camp located some three and a half hours drive by road from Lawas town.
The pilot and the president of SIB Sarawak Kalib Besar were killed.
Then on July 12 the following year, seven individuals, including Dato Dr Judson Sakai Tagal, Marcos Raja and senior officers of Sesco, died when the Bell 206 L 4 helicopter they were in plunged into a mountain.
On August 16 the same year, a Nuri helicopter belonging to the RMAF went down 15km North West of Mt Murud while ferrying troops from 20 RAMD to Ba Kelalan.
Three people on board were killed while seven were injured.
Not long after that incident, another Bell 206 helicopter crashed in Kuching division, killing all four on board.
Among those killed were the bodyguard of Tan Sri Adenan Satem and the political secretary to Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang.
On June 18, 2005, an MHS Super Puma plunged into the sea after it crashed landed in the South China Sea while ferrying 11 SHELL and contractor’s staff to the B11 gas production platform in Bintulu.
Luckily, all on board survived the incident to tell the tale of their ordeal and how their aircraft sunk to the bottom within minutes.
A month later, a Bell L-4 helicopter crashed in the mountainous region near Long Singgut, Ulu Baleh, killing three while one survived.
The crash site was a day’s journey upriver from Kapit.
More grim news followed on Sept 3, 2005, when a logging helicopter crashed and burst into flames in Kapit Division during heavy rain, killing three Russian nationals on board.
The ill-fated helicopter, of the KAMOV KA-32 model, was believed to be involved in winching logs which would be transferred to waiting lorries.
Those who died were the pilot, an engineer and a mechanic.
In Jan 2007, a Super Puma L-2 helicopter belonging to the Malaysian Helicopter Services plunged into the rough South China Sea with eight offshore crews and two pilots. The helicopter went down at about 2.30 pm between the D-35 and Bayan platform.
One passenger was reported missing while the rest were rescued, about 80km from Bintulu.
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