SRP asks for clarification on airline company authorization

16 July 2007
By Hassan
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

SRP MP Son Chhay sent a letter at the beginning of July to Sok An, the vice prime minister, asking for a clarification on the government decision to allow the PMT airline to continue its air transportation of passengers (following a PMT plane crash at the end of June 2007).

According to The Phnom Penh Post published this week, the Cambodian authority is only preparing to send the black box of the crashed plane to Russia for an analysis on the cause of the crash.

An Antonov 24 airplane operated by PMT crashed in Kampot province on 25 June, and caused the death of 22 people on board, including more than 10 South Koreans.

The Seoul government indicated that it will send aviation safety experts to look into this black box.

Cambodia to Send Flight Data Recorder to Russia

Cambodian rescue team officials carry a ball like object, which is believed to be a flight data recorder, after the team had retrieved from a PMT Air plane in Kampot Province, some 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 27, 2007. The Russian-made An-24 aircraft crashed Monday during a storm while flying between Siem Reap and Sihanoukville on the southern coast. The search teams confirmed Wednesday there were no survivors from the plane with 22 people aboard, including South Korean and Czech tourists. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02/07/2007

A Cambodian delegation will carry the flight data recorder from a plane that crashed last week to Russia, authorities said Monday.

Aviation officials hope the "black box" will reveal more about how PMT Flight U4 241 crashed a week ago in rainy, coastal mountains.

Twenty-two died in the crash, the worst air fatality since 1997, when a Vietnam Airlines flight crash killed more than 60.

Though an official cause of the crash has not been announced, a number of officials have said they suspect poor weather. The company running the flight, however, has a spotty safety record, as does the plane that crashed, a Russian-made Antonov.

Civilian Aviation Secretariat Director Him Sarun said the cause of the crash will remain unknown until the data recorder is analyzed.

"No one can answer the question, until after the black box is analyzed," he said. "Otherwise, whatever people say is pure speculation. Please don't believe it. It is only a guess. The black box is the only thing that can analyze everything."