BUTTERWORTH – The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will conduct a detailed probe into the crash of the British-made Hawk 108 aircraft crash at the airbase here last night that resulted in the death of its pilot.
The air force command’s deputy chief Datuk Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan said RMAF will conduct an in-depth probe into the tragic incident.
“We will conduct the probe from the technical standpoint too,” he told journalists when paying his respects to the deceased pilot at the Seberang Jaya Hospital mortuary.
The pilot has been identified as Mohamed Affendi Bustamy, who hailed from Kuantan. His next of kin have been notified.
Warded at the same hospital is co-pilot Mohd Fareez Omar, who sustained injuries in the fighter plane and whose condition is said to be stable.
It is learnt that the two-seater aircraft was approaching the runway at a landing pattern at the RMAF Butterworth air base when it skidded and crashed on the tarmac during a nocturnal training exercise at 10.07pm yesterday.
Emergency crews were on the scene within minutes but Affendi died on the spot.
According to previous reports, the RMAF has a fleet of eight Hawk 108s on top of 16 Hawk 208 jets in its roster after acquiring them in 1996.
The Hawk is described as an advanced trainer and a light fighter jet.
Meanwhile, A-Levels student Arya Lee, 18, whose house is near the air base, said a few RMAF aircraft were heard conducting night flights on Monday before tragedy struck last night.
“Jets fly over my house all the time, day and night, even at 2am sometimes,” she said.
“Last night, we heard this plane fly over the house. I mentioned to a friend who was visiting that when we were children it was a novelty to see the jets. My aunt pointed to the plane and told our friend to look up to the sky as in the distance, one jet was approaching.
“That was right around 10pm. We closed our ears as it was the loudest when it flew over our roofs.
“Who knew it would crash? We were really disheartened to learn about what had happened,” she said – The Vibes, November 17, 2021
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