Sepanjang bertugas sebagai seorang Nuri pilot di Semenanjung Malaysia, hanya sekali saya membuat 'deck landing'. Itu pun di atas kapal KD Mahawangsa. Pendaratan ini tidak menjadi masalah kerana 'LP' terletak belakang kapal. Ini bermakna tiada halangan di kiri dan kanan LP: halangan hanyalah 'bridge' kapal di hadapan 'flight path' semasa membuat 'approach' untuk mendarat.
Semua pilot helikopter dilatih untuk mendarat di 'confined area', ala....mendarat di LP le tu. Mendarat di LP memang ada cabarannya tersendiri. Kapal juga tergolong dalam kategori ini. Perbezaannya ialah LP di hutan tak bergerak: kapal pula sentiasa bergerak walaupun perlahan. Masalah berganda apabila mendarat atas kapal seperti KD SRI BANGGI. Memang satu cabaran!
M23-37 mendarat di KD SRI BANGGI
Keluasan LP di atas kapal bukannya menjadi persoalan. Masalahnya ialah 'obstructions', iaitu 'bridge' dan juga 'tiang/aerial' di hadapan: LP terletak di antara bridge and tiang/aerials (lihat gambar). Untuk mendarat, kaedah yang dipraktikkan ialah Nuri terbang 'parallel' dengan kapal dan pada masa yang sama 'move sideways'. Kelajuannya melebihi kelajuan kapal. KU memainkan peranan penting kerana hanya beliau yang nampak kedudukan bridge relatif kepada ekor pesawat. 'Pattering' KU memaklum kapten pesawat, lebih kurang berbunyi '....Forward 5 Right 5' serentak (kehadapan 5 kaki kanan 5 kaki). Masalah bertambah tatkala laut bergelora. Alangkan orang sekali pun boleh 'mabuk' percuma apabila kapal terumbang-ambing dipukul ombak...He...He...He. Menurut PW2 Saifuddin (B) yang membuat detasmen atas kapal berkenaan, kapten kapal ada memaklumkan bahawa beliau (kapten) 'tutup mata' bila Nuri nak mendarat atas kapal.
Ketika pesawat dalam penerbangan untuk mendarat di atas kapal yang dalam pelayaran ke Terumbu Layang Layang, saya menerima arahan daripada Markas Wilayah Udara 2 (MAWILUD2), Kuching, untuk menghantar draf SOP tentang 'Deck Landing'. Sebenarnya, sebelum Mei 1983, tiada tercatat dalam SOP Nuri berkaitan topik ini. Apa lagi, saya pun menghantar mesej mengarahkan kapten pesawat untuk menghantar draf kepada saya dengan seberapa segera. Kalau tak silap saya, draf itu hanya 2 muka saja dan saya bersetuju dengan syor beliau. Ia telah dipanjangkan kepada MAWILUD2. Sudah pasti diluluskan tanpa sebarang komen. Beberapa bulan kemudian, perkara ini telah dibincang dengan panjang lebar semasa Heli Seminar di KL. Saya difahamkan, SOP Nuri kini menghendaki semua krew membuat 'deck landing' setiap 6 bulan sekali.
Saya bersyukur kepada Ilahi kerana sepanjang saya menjawat Ketua No 5 Skuadron, tiada sebarang kemalangan berlaku kepada pesawat dan krew sepanjang misi Ops Terumbu. Malah, tiada sebarang kecelakaan berlaku kepada krew dan juga kedua-dua jenis pesawat dalam inventori skuadron - Nuri dan Alouette 111....Syukur alhamdulillah. Sekarang hanya Nuri sahaja sebagai aset skuadron. Saya berbangga dengan tahap professionalisme semua anak buah saya, termasuk 'ground crew', yang sentiasa melaksanakan tugas dengan penuh dedikasi. Untuk itu, sekiranya ada di antara mereka yang membaca coretan xbos mereka ini, saya ingin merakamkan ucapan....TERIMA KASIH.
Sekira diizinkan-Nya buku ke2 menjadi kenyataan, saya akan masukkan komen-komen yang tercatat dalam coretan berkenaan, insyaAllah. Saya tidak kisah apa orang akan kata tentang kandungan buku itu nanti serta gaya penulisan kerana saya menyanjung tinggi pengiktirafan oleh mereka yang menghargai pengorbanan para veteran ATM....TERIMA KASIH.
8 ulasan:
Saudara Nor,
I am sure that a deck landing on a ship must be a very complex procedure given that one has to land on a moving platform and taking in account the roll and pitch of the ship. The fact that you have done is safely is yet another feather in your cap as a Nuri pilot. I remember witnessing an interesting episode of a helicopters deck landing on a what I believe was a British Frigate. This story unfolds in May 1964 during Confrontation when was posted with my platoon to Pulau Tiomam stationed in Kg.Tekek. One day some fishermen came to my camp and told me that they found a
'Bom' and had anchored it to some rocks with wire cables.
When I went to examine it, it was huge contraption silver colored and cone shaped with finns at one end and looked like a rocket.I warned the villages to keep away from it and contacted 2nd Recce in Kuantan under whom my plt was attached describing the find in detail. Next day I received a message that it was possibly a Napam Bomb dropped by some American plane at sea.( America was then involved in Vietnam) The following day a British Frigate arrived and anchored at sea. Later a Helicopter what looked like a Wessex was seen landing on the Frigate picked some personnel and landed on the beach.
I briefed the group and pointed the location of the bomb. Then they took off and hovered over the bomb and some personnel abseiled down and prepared an under slung. The bomb was then taken out to sea and later exploded by personnel from the ship. From the shore we heard a huge explosion and saw the whole sea almost the size of a football field bust in a huge ball of fire much to the awe of the whole kampong of Tekek. I dread to think what could have happened if the bomb had exploded at its anchor point near the beach. That must have been the biggest happening for the people of Kg. Tekek. By the way the pilot who flew me to P.Tioman in a single pioneer was then lt Gopal Ramada's. I later met him when he was a Brig General.Datuk.and a bit of old times.
Saudara Arunzab,
Thank you. You're right. Deck landing is a real challenge. Tun Mahathir had to spend the night at the 'floating hotel' because the Nuri could not get airborne from the ship because of the unstability of the ship due to the strong waves.
Major Nor Ibrahim,
Was the photo of M23-37 that you posted taken during 'Ops Tugu'?
Years later, after Layang-Layang had a heli-pad, did you ever fly there?
Also, I read somewhere that our troops placed a marker on Amboyna Reef but this was removed the next day by Vietnamse troops. Did you ever hear of this incident?
Thank you,
Fariz.
F said...
Major Nor Ibrahim must surely know this story about the marker and it's removal. However I have just finished reading the latest book on Mahathir Mohamed by Barry Wain. (Malaysian Maverick) In it is a mention about Amboyna Cay. The story goes.......
Mahathir then Deputy PM to Tun Hussain had persuaded Hussain that Malaysia should strengthen its claims to part of the Spartely Islands in the South China Sea by occuping Ambonya Cay on which Malaysia had already planted a marker. Our Navy was ready with sufficient personnel to occupy the island. How ever the indecisive Hussain "changed his mind one week later" said Mahathir. The Vietnamese beat Malaysia to the punch and established a permanent presence on the Cay. I suppose they must have thrown away our marker.
It is fortunate that when Mahathir became our PM he had the foresight and guts to occupy the Atoll of Pulau Layang Layang otherwise we would have lost that too to the Vietnamese.I have seen the pix of Ambonya Cay it is a real jewel that we lost.
Regards
Dear Fariz,
The photo of M23-37 was sent by the AQM, Sjn Saifuddin Choo, who was on detachment aboard KD Sri Banggi. The mission was for the construction of a tugu and the living module for the commando/Paskal at TLL then. Later on, in 1985 I think, he was also involved, with the same aircraft, in the construction of a tugu at Semarang. We had limited number of Nuri and aircrew then.
Yes, I'd flown to TLL when the hangar was ready. In fact, I was asked by the Navy about the position of the tie-down rings at the helipad. I flew PTL/gang once and night stopped there. I was there when a decision was made to build a 'channel' by blowing the reef. Before that, the water wasn't deep enough for the ship to enter the lagoon.
As for Amboyna Cay, the PM then, Tun Dr Mahathir, expressed his disappointment when his predecessor, quote '...Tun Hussein agreed with my plans to claim Amboyna Cay for Malaysia, but the following week he changed his mind, believing that our claim might provoke a confrontation with the other countries', unquote ('A Doctor In The House, page 317). It up to you to deduce whatever he meant by that.
Saudara Arunzab,
Thank you for the informations. I haven't read that book. I'm happy to know that this episode of Amboyna Cay is now made known to the general public. Prior to this, not many people are willing to talk about it due to the security classifications. This is the main setback for those involved in the transformation of 'Swallow Reef' to Pulau Layang Layang from telling their interesting stories.
kisah menarik............bnyk maklumat yang x pernah saya tahu..... besar jasa perajurit pertahan hak negara........
Tuan,
Majalah 3 episod 29 boleh ditonton di tonton.com.my ..
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