The operator of a helicopter that landed in an open space near a residential area in Bintulu, Sarawak, today says it was a precautionary landing, not an emergency one, and that the aircraft was not on a Flying Doctor Service (FDS) or medical evacuation mission.
Layang Layang Aerospace Sdn Bhd accountable manager Shahdon Poong said the helicopter was not carrying out services for the health ministry or the Sarawak health department at the time. He said the pilot informed Bintulu air traffic control of the situation when landing and then called in the company’s mobile engineering response team to carry out precautionary technical inspections.
The pilot and two technicians on board were safe and no injuries were reported, Poong said in a statement. The company will issue a further statement tomorrow after reviewing the engineering team’s findings.
Earlier, Bintulu police chief Nixon Joshua Ali said an FDS helicopter had made an emergency landing at about 3.20pm after a minor technical problem while flying from Sibu to Miri, where it was due to take part in an exhibition programme. He said there were no health ministry personnel on board, only the pilot and two crew members.
A video of a yellow helicopter on an open patch of land beside houses near Sri Pertiwi in Kidurong, Bintulu, went viral on social media.