BUTTERWORTH – The two pilots who operated the Hawk 108 fighter plane that crash-landed on Tuesday night had managed to eject themselves from the aircraft in the incident at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base here.
State police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said a report on the crash was made at the Telok Ayer Tawar police station at 4.39am yesterday.
He said the plane was being flown for about an hour in the airspace surrounding the base during night-flight training.
“Both pilots managed to get out of the plane using the ejection seats and one of them died at the scene,” he said.
“The autopsy performed on the pilot also found that the death was due to multiple injuries consistent with the air crash.
“A statement from the surviving pilot has not yet been obtained as he is currently receiving treatment at the Seberang Jaya Hospital,” Shuhaily told reporters after the opening ceremony of the Seberang Perai Tengah police headquarters.
Meanwhile, police have classified the accident as a sudden death report (SDR), Shuhaily said.
In this regard, full investigation on the incident has been left to the military for further action.
“In this case, we are investigating the case as a SDR because all thorough investigations will be conducted by the military,” he said.
In the incident at 10.07pm, one pilot was killed while another was injured after the RMAF’s Hawk plane crashed.
The dead pilot was identified as Mohamad Affendi Bustamy, 31, while his colleague Mohd Fareez Omar, 33, is reported to be in stable condition at the Seberang Jaya Hospital.
Mohamad Affendi’s body was buried at the Muadzam Shah Islamic Cemetery in Rompin, Pahang last night with a full military ceremony. – The Vibes, November 18, 2021
