SECOND C-130 RETURNS, LST SETS SAIL TO JOIN QZ8501 SEARCH MISSION

As the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 Hercules plane pulled into Paya Lebar Air Base at about 3.25pm, the atmosphere was sombre. The crew stepped out, the fatigue of their intense five-and-a-half-hour search written clearly on each of their faces.

They were in the second C-130 aircraft deployed by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as part of international efforts to find the Indonesian AirAsia QZ8501 aircraft, which had disappeared en route to Singapore Changi Airport after leaving Surabaya, Indonesia.

The crew of about 20 servicemen had been up in the air since 6.30 this morning, only returning to land almost nine hours later. The RSAF was assigned an area in the Java Sea of approximately 60 x 190 nautical miles, and the second C-130 covered about 15 percent of the area. Another 15 percent was covered by a C-130 which took off later at noon for the RSAF's third sortie.

Although the mission was a long and exhausting one, Captain (CPT) Jason Chai, one of the four pilots on board the aircraft, said that the crew was " all very geared up to go on the operation".

"We were very determined to help out and try to find the missing aircraft. Eventually it was very tiring, but it was for a good cause, so the tiredness only set in after we landed," he explained.

"It's a test of what we've been training for [in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)] and we are now finally able to put it to a good cause," the 122 Squadron (SQN) pilot added. He had previously flown in the Search-and-Locate (SAL) operations to find missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370.

CPT Chai also highlighted that, apart from the unpredictable weather, one of the challenges of the mission was coordinating with the various search agencies to maximise the SAL efforts: "There are navy and air force elements from the different countries and every day, different people are involved, so we have to de-conflict to make the search more efficient."

An integral part of the crew were the 12 scanners, who scrutinised the search area for debris such as life jackets or airplane seats that might belong to the missing plane.

The scanners were made up of volunteers from various RSAF squadrons who heeded the call to assist in the mission. One of them was Military Expert 2-1 (ME2-1) Calvin Tay, an air force engineer from 507 SQN.

"When my superior informed me that the RSAF was looking for volunteers, I volunteered for the first flight today," said ME2-1 Tay.

He added thoughtfully: "As military personnel, our job is not just to see to the daily maintenance of RSAF systems. We also have to participate in HADR missions like this and do what we can to help those in need."

Unfortunately, the crew's search today yielded no results.

Said ME2-1 Tay of the outcome: "To be frank, it was disappointing as we could not get any answers regarding the whereabouts of the aircraft. We could not provide proper closure for the families yet."

However, CPT Chai remained hopeful of the SAF's continued efforts to search for the missing plane: "We just keep going; it doesn't mean that just because we didn't find anything today, we won't get something tomorrow. Hopefully somebody finds the missing aircraft eventually."

This evening, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) also deployed a Landing Ship Tank (LST), RSS Persistence, together with two Super Puma helicopters on deck to join the search-and-locate efforts. Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General (LG) Ng Chee Meng was at Changi Naval Base to send the crew off at 6pm.

The deployment took place shortly after the arrival of two RSN ships - Formidable-class frigate RSS Supreme and missile corvette RSS Valour - at the search area. The ships had set sail late last night.