[UPDATED] Elmina tragedy: plane diverged from original path, says Loke

KUALA LUMPUR – The plane that crashed near a residential area in Elmina in Seksyen U16, Shah Alam, claiming ten lives today, was found to have deviated from the original landing route.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the information is based on preliminary observations so far.

“Based on initial observation, the plane was found to have veered to the right side of the landing path.

“The plane received permission to land, but three minutes after that, the control tower (Subang Airport) saw a plume of smoke from the crash site,” Loke said in a press conference near the site of the incident.

He also noted that no “mayday” signal from the pilot was received by the control tower, as confirmed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia.

Loke added that three minutes after the permission to land was given, the air traffic officer in the tower saw a big smoke at the location where it crashed.

He also said that efforts are currently underway to locate the aircraft’s black box.

CCTV footage showing the Beechcraft Model 390's plunge, moments before crashing in Elmina in Shah Alam this afternoon. A trail of black smoke and flames could be seen. pic.twitter.com/l052Fz8MID

— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) August 17, 2023

The Beechcraft 390, also known as Premier 1, identified as having the registration number N28JV, was operated by a private Malaysian charter company, Jetvalet Sdn Bhd.

The vessel had departed from Langkawi International Airport at 2.08pm and was headed to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Airport in Subang.

All eight people aboard, including two pilots, perished, including Pahang state executive councillor and Umno politician Datuk Seri Johari Harun, together with two others on the ground.

Bernama reported Loke as saying that two pilots, Shahrul Kamal Roslan and Heikal Aras Abdul Azim as well as five other passengers namely Kharil Azwan Jamaludin, Shaharul Amir Omar, Mohamad Naim Fawwaz Mohamed Muaidi, Muhammad Taufiq Mohd Zaki and Idris Abdol Talib @ Ramali were also listed as victims of the tragedy.

“Even though police have confirmed no victims survived the crash, the identity of the victims need to be verified via forensic (examination) being conducted by the hospital.

“Confirmation will be announced by police,” he said in a media conference at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport here today. 

Meanwhile, Loke said the identity of the two remaining individuals who were on the ground in the tragedy will be confirmed through police investigation. – The Vibes, August 17, 2023