THE Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has started an investigation into the case of a Bell 505 helicopter that landed on a field at Ipoh City Council in Perak yesterday to collect 36 packets of ‘nasi ganja’.

In a statement today, CAAM said that an initial investigation showed that the helicopter had departed at 9.08am from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang for Ipoh and returned to Subang at 11.02am, as per the filed flight plan.

“CAAM has initiated an immediate investigation to determine whether the helicopter has breached any regulations as stated in the Malaysian Civil Aviation Regulation 2016 (MCAR 2016) and the Civil Aviation Directives (CADs).

“CAAM will also verify to ensure that the operator and the operating crew had operated within the scope of approval,” CAAM chief executive officer Capt Chester Voo.

Voo said that operators must comply with the general rules as per CAD 2 (Rules of the Air), Chapter 3.1 Protection of Persons and Property and other relevant chapters.

It was reported yesterday that a helicopter had landed on a field at Ipoh City Council at 10am yesterday.

Perak police chief Mior Faridalathrash Wahid told reporters that checks with the Ipoh CAAM, revealed the helicopter was only allowed to land at the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (LTSAS).

Mior said the helicopter has instead landed at Padang Ipoh between 9.55am and 10.15am to pick up the ‘nasi ganja’ order.

A spokesperson for a famous nasi ganja restaurant, who declined to be named, confirmed that he had received orders for 36 packets of rice with chicken, meat and salted eggs from a customer in Kuala Lumpur.

The spokesperson said that, at first, he doubted whether the booking was real or a joke, because he was told the order would be collected using a helicopter. – July 24, 2021.