The pilot who died was a former MiG-29 pilot with the air force who retired with the rank of lieutenant-colonel
IPOH – A pilot was killed and another injured when their light aircraft on a night training flight crashed on a road near an overhead bridge in Ipoh on Monday (01 Aug).
According to the news portal FMT, the civil aviation authority (CAAM) said Ipoh tower had received a mayday call from the aircraft at 8.07pm shortly after takeoff.
“One pilot succumbed to his injuries while the other pilot suffered serious injuries and is currently receiving medical assistance,” FMT quoted Capt Chester Voo, chief executive of CAAM as saying.
A spokesman for Perak fire and rescue services said flight instructor Fajim Juffa Mustafa Kamal, 52, had died in the crash while chief flight instructor Mohammad Din Fikri Zainal Abidin, 62, was injured.
Fajim was a former MiG-29 pilot with the air force who retired with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
The aircraft, a two-seater Piper 28-161 with registration 9M-BAA, is operated by BATS Aviation Sdn Bhd, which has a flight training centre based at Ipoh airport.
Transport minister Wee Ka Siong, who described the accident as a “serious flying school aircraft incident”, instructed aviation authorities to carry out a thorough investigation.
The fire and rescue department said the accident occurred on Jalan Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, near Medan Gopeng.
Meanwhile, according to Bernama, Fajim was reported to have survived a previous jet crash in 2004
It was reported that Fajim have spent several days stuck in a tree when the aircraft he was on suffered engine trouble when conducting training in 2004.
According to his aunt, who did not want to be identified, the incident did not dampen Fajim’s passion for flying.
“He never said he was scared or wanted to quit this field as he had a deep interest in it,” she said when met by reporters at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital forensics department early Tuesday (02 Aug) morning.
She said Fajim’s father also suffered the same fate and died in an aircraft incident around 1989.
Checks by Bernama indicated that relatives of the deceased, including his wife and daughters, had gathered at the grounds of the hospital around 1.20am.
The aunt said they decided not to inform them about Fajim’s death until they arrived to avoid any untoward incidents on their journey here.
“I was close to him and he was a cheerful man who often brought his family to visit me,” she added.
Fajim, from Semenyih, Selangor was killed and fellow flight instructor Muhammad Din from Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, was injured when the light aircraft they were on crashed at around 8pm last night.
Both flight instructors were reported to have departed from a nearby flight training school before the incident occurred.
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