In a statement, Azharuddin Abd Rahman said while the report by the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370 did not suggest the accident was caused by the Department of Civil Aviation, they found that the air traffic controller failed to comply with certain SOPs.

The DCA was transformed into CAAM in February this year.

“Therefore, it is with regret and after much thought and contemplation that I have decided to resign as the chairman of CAAM effective 145 days from the date of the resignation notice which I have served today.”

Azharuddin added that in the past four years he had tried his best to assist in the search for MH370.

“I am saddened to have to leave under these circumstances,” he said, and apologised for not being able to fulfil the remainder of his tenure.

MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014, en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board, in one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

Investigators have never been able to explain why the jet abandoned its route shortly into the flight, traversed Malaysia and then cruised south over the Indian Ocean.

The investigation report, made public yesterday, noted that air traffic controllers in Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City did not act according to SOPs that day, causing a significant delay in detecting the disappearance of the ill-fated flight.

The report also noted that the mistake happened when the plane was about to enter Vietnamese airspace.