Two naval helicopters collide in Malaysia

Two helicopters operated by the Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia ( TLDM, Royal Malaysian Navy ) collided in mid-air in the morning of 23 April.

The crash happened near the town of Lumut, Perak province, not far from the local naval air station, one of the two in use by the TLDM. According to Malaysian news media none of the ten crewmembers of the planes has survived.

The helicopters involved in the crash were a Leonardo AW139 (locally referred to as HOM), serial M503-3, and Eurocopter AS555SN Fennec M502-6. The former was flown by 503 Skuadron, based at Kota Kinabalu, while the latter flew for 502 Skuadron, based at Lumut.

The footage of the clash and the subsequent crash showed one of the helicopters clipped the rotor of the other leading to the crash. The AW139 crashed onto a running track while the Fennec crashed into a swimming pool nearby.

According to a TLDM press release, the choppers were rehearsing for the Navy’s 90th anniversary event scheduled to take place from 3-5 May.

Photo: Hans Jacobs