Victims in Klang light aircraft crash identified
Published on: Wednesday, February 14, 2024
By: FMT
Selangor fire and rescue department personnel transporting the bodies of the victims of the light aircraft crash in Kapar, Klang. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: The police have identified the pilot and co-pilot of the BK160 Gabriel light aircraft that crashed in Kapar, Klang, yesterday.
Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said according to the flight manifest, the victims were identified as pilot Yee Hsiang Khoon, 30, and co-pilot Roshaan Singh Raina, 42, Bernama reported.
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Hussein said that based on their identity cards, the victims hailed from Johor and Penang but are believed to have been residing in Selangor.
The bodies were taken to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang, where the post-mortem will be carried out today.
According to Hussein, the personnel from the various agencies involved in the search operation at the crash site had a lot of difficulty in retrieving the bodies from the wreckage as the aircraft was “buried deep in the ground”.
He said preliminary investigations found that 45% of the aircraft’s body was buried underground after it crashed at an oil palm plantation.
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It was reported earlier that the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot of the BK160 Gabriel were found in the aircraft’s cockpit, which was buried more than 2m in the ground.
A total of 150 personnel from various agencies were involved in the search for the wreckage.
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Hussein said there was no damage to any residential property in the area due to the plane crash.
Eyewitness account
An eyewitness said he saw the light aircraft flying in an unusual pattern before it crashed.
Jinaidi Nasiran said he was changing the tyre of his car and had a clear view of the incident in which the aircraft nose-dived into the ground at about 1.30pm.
“Something was off with the way the aircraft was flying. Suddenly it nose-dived into the ground.
“I rushed to the crash site and saw that the plane was already in pieces and slightly buried in the ground.
“I tried to look for the occupants (of the plane) but could not spot anyone,” the 55-year-old said, according to Bernama.
Meanwhile, Siti Zubaidah Salin, 60, who lives 150m from the crash site, said she heard a loud explosion and felt a tremor during the crash.
“I was just relaxing at home when suddenly it felt like an earthquake had occurred. I ran outside but there was nothing. Later, I heard people talking about a plane crash,” she said.
A fruit seller, Sufian Hadi Abas, 45, said he heard a very loud explosion in the air before the crash.
“When I looked up, I saw fragments of the plane flying everywhere before it crashed into the ground,” he said.
Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said the light aircraft operated by Air Adventure Flying Club departed from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang for a recreational flight at 1.28pm.
It last made contact with air traffic control at 1.35pm, and no distress calls were received before it crashed.
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