The operations of Hornbill Skyways helicopter service will not be grounded despite the crash tragedy of one of its helicopters, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) said today.

However, DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told reporters, his department was monitoring the situation closely.

“We have not commenced an investigation into what happened as we have to investigate what actually caused (the helicopter) to lose contact with the control tower late yesterday evening.

"A team of investigators are on the way to conduct the investigation, while the DCA is responsible for monitoring it until we find all parts of the wreckage," he added.

Azharuddin said the last contact with the helicopter was at 4.15pm, three minutes after its departure to Kuching.

Asked whether the crash was due to a technical error or whether the helicopter crashed into a river, he refused to speculate.

“I do not want to speculate too early. Let the investigators look at this. I do not want to comment (on the possibility of technical error) as I have to await the report on it."

No response

Azharuddin, who arrived in Kuching this morning, said he does not remember when the DCA issued the alert but said the flight time estimate to Simunjan should be about 20 minutes.

He added that at 4.28pm yesterday, the Simunjan tower tried to establish contact and made several attempts but there were no response.

“The other helicopters also tried but they were unable to contact the affected helicopter. We also checked all airports and contacted Hornbill Skyways and the Simunjan district police headquarters.

“We contacted them and put up an alert at about 4.50pm and the feedback we gained on that was negative. We ordered a search and rescue at about 7.26pm. There was no delay in between,” Azharuddin (photo) said.

He acknowledged the challenges in the search and rescue mission as the river could be choppy.

“We have boats from the Fire and Rescue Services Department and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, and personnel from the military and police are all assisting in finding the wreckage. So I think these are the challenges that we have to face,” he said.

Azharuddin also urged the media to respect the privacy of the families and not to speculate further on the tragedy. He also reiterated that the affected families have been informed.