Final Resting Place...FM1711

Readers...If you happen to visit 'Pusat Latihan Peperangan Khusus (PLPK)', Sg Udang Camp, don't be surprised to see a mock-up of an 'old but faithful' Nuri. Mind you, the fuselage is original...not 'pirated'. The question is...how come it landed there far away from its home base, No 10 Squadron, RMAF Kuantan? Well, here is the story...

On 10 October 1975, a Nuri  took off from No 10 Squadron, RMAF Kuantan for Sg Udang, Malacca, for a Joint Services Training (JST) at PLPK, Sg Udang Camp. It was just a routine sortie of abseiling for 'Young Officers Tactic Course', popularly known as 'YO Tac', a compulsory course for all Army officers except for Paymasters then.  I didn't attend the course when I was a Paymaster before becoming a pilot. This was the first time ever the course was conducted in PLPK. Normally, the home base of the course was PULADA, Ulu Tiram, Johore. 

 

The happy faces of young officers while waiting for their turn to abseil before the incident. (Click to magnify).  

The aircrew involved were:

• Capt (U) Lim Aik Peng (captain), Lt (U) Senin bin Jantan (co-pilot) and Sgt Arumugam (AQM)
• Airframe ~ FM1711

According to Senin, the abseiling area was over the trees near the shooting range. The captain was having 'control' while he had his right hand on the 'SSLs (Speed Selector Levers)' when the aircraft was in the hovering state. The SSLs have to be manned while hovering and  on take-off/landing. In the event of an emergency, they must be 'pushed' forward to give more power to the engines. (The picture illustrates the co-pilot having his  hand on the SSL on one of the manoeuvres). One student, 2nd Lt Abdul Razak of 5 Ranger, was in the process of abseiling down when suddenly no 1 engine went kaput.

Lim ordered the co-pilot '...power'. This is an 'immediate drill'. Even without the command, it is an automatic reaction for the co-pilot to do so. With only single engine functioning, the Nuri dropped vertically like a stone and landed over a tree which penetrated the floor board right up to the aircraft's 'ceiling' before collapsing on its side. I wonder what tree that was...so strong (kalah 'tongkat ali')!

The demised of FM 1711 resting on its side

The impact was so great that the co-pilot's seat belt snapped...not unbuckled. (Picture of co-pilot seat belt).  Senin was thrown out of his seat onto Lim's lap and one of his legs accidentally kicked the captain's side window and flung it out. He was just plain lucky! Had he not...إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ! ...Because a blade broke after hitting the trees and penetrated through the glass screen and hit his seat. All the aircrew and the students left the Nuri for safety immediately; both the pilots crawled out through the captain's side window which Senin had kicked it out. All these happened while the rotors were still turning since one engine was still functioning. After regaining their composure, after about 1 minute, Lim followed by Senin, rushed back to the aircraft to shutdown the Nuri.

Then, somebody shouted '...Where's my leg...Where's my leg'. Razak had lost his left leg when the aircraft dropped to the ground. His left leg was chopped off by a broken rotor blade. On hearing the cry of the missing leg, Lim ordered all those in the area to search for the leg. In the meantime, the ambulance arrived to pick the casualty to the hospital. The leg was later found about 100 yards from the incident area. According to Razak, his left leg was buried in Seremban.

Here is an extract of the story related by 2Lt Basri Omar (picture taken on 31 Jul 2010 in conjunction of Hari Pahlawan - courtesy of ' Panggilan Pertiwi') who was one of the students...

"...Kemalangan terjadi semasa Sortie Kedua...nasib baik saya Sortie Ketiga...dalam dok tunggu giliran - kami di maklumkan Nuri tu crashed...dan seorang Pelatih Peg Renjer Lt A Razak husin (kini Lt Kol Bersara) mengalami cedera teruk putus kaki kiri akibat direntap Rotor Blade Nuri...beliau dok tengah abseil down ketika itu...Masyaallah!"

We were briefed on the incident by our OC, Maj (U) Goh Seng Toh, when he landed from Sg Udang that night. He came to the mess, still in coloreng, to brief the Base Commander who was  then attending the Mess Night.

My last rides flying FM1711 were on 9 September 1975 from RMAF Kuantan to RMAF KL and back...
Kuantan - KL
~ Lt (U) KT Choy as the captain and F/Sgt Mano the AQM. 
~ Duration - 1:05 hr
KL - Kuantan
~ Lt (U) Sharif Abas (Capt Longhouse) and F/Sgt Mano the AQM
~ Duration - 1:10hr

Commandant PLPK, Lt Col Basri Omar, Lt Col A Razak Husin, Maj Senin and Xxx Xxxxxxx...Thank you for your contributions.


Today, 18 August 2010 at 0602 hour, I received an e-mail from a reader with an attachment of NST, dated 13 October 1975, on this incident...

 Captain Xx Xx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx...Thank you.