Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE
THE ROYAL MALAYSIAN Air Force's (RMAF) outgoing chief of staff has blamed inadequate logistical support and a lack of pilot training for its high attrition rate and poor operational readiness.
Lt Gen Abdul Ghani cites component failure, compounded by aircrew inexperience, as the main causes for the air force's deteriorating safety record. The comments were made during a speech marking his retirement as RMAF chief.
Aircraft system failures have been exacerbated by pilot unfamiliarity in dealing with emergency situations, according to Ghani, often resulting in crash investigations pointing to human error as a contributory factor.
Ghani suggests that one solution would be to devote more resources to improving simulator training for Malaysian pilots.
He claims that, in the case of the RMAF's fleet of Sikorsky S-61 Nuri helicopters and Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transports, the accident rate had been cut after pilots were dispatched to undergo simulator training in Norway and Singapore.
The air force's high attrition rate has attracted criticism. Recent accidents have included the loss of two Northrop F-5E/ Fs, a mid-air collision involving two new British Aerospace Hawks and the crash of a de Havilland DHC-4 Caribou.
Operational readiness, has been further hit, by poor spares provisioning, leaving many aircraft grounded for extended periods. The RMAF needs a computerised logistic system to manage its supply of spares better, says Ghani.
The RMAF's C-130s and its Hawks have in particular been badly affected by poor spares-management. Its force of Hawk trainer and light strike aircraft has suffered a high level of avionics failures caused by high humidity, and a shortage of spares has left many of the aircraft on the ground.
Source: Flight International
