Light aircraft crashes in Sungkai, 2 passengers survive

A training aircraft crashed in the Besout 2 Tambahan plantation area in Sungkai today.

Perak police chief Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri, when contacted, confirmed the incident.

“Yes, it was a training aircraft and the passengers survived,” he said.

He said there were two passengers, a man and a woman onboard the aircraft when the incident occurred at 9.55am.

Both victims were sent to Slim River hospital, he said, adding that the type of aircraft could not be determined at this time.

The video of the incident has been circulating via WhatsApp.

Passengers identified

The flight instructor and trainee of the Cessna 172 (9M ADA) type training aircraft have been identified as Captain Shahrul Imran Surea, 26, and Ho Jia Lee, 20.

Yusri said Shahrul, who lives in Jalan Jelatek, Kuala Lumpur, is suspected to have a broken right leg while Ho, who lives in Lahat, Perak, has swelling on the right side of her face.

“The plane is from Syarikat Layang-Layang Aerospace Sdn Bhd, Ipoh.

“The aircraft was travelling from Ipoh to Tanjung Karang at 7.59am for flight training and it turned back to Ipoh before crashing at the location at 9.30am,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Perak Fire and Rescue Department director Sayani Saidon said both victims have been rescued from the crash site.

“We received an emergency call at 9.46am and a team from the Slim River Fire and Rescue Station with the help of personnel from Bidor were deployed to the scene of the incident, which is located 20km from the main road.”

Immediate action taken

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has confirmed the reports, adding that the duty controller took due action when the aircraft failed to make a position report over Bidor.

“The Kuala Lumpur Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (KLARCC) was activated at 10.15am upon receiving information on the crash for the coordination of rescue operations and both persons were rescued,” its chief executive officer Norazman Mahmud said in a statement.

He added that further investigation would be conducted by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau under the Transport Ministry, in accordance with Part XXVI of the Civil Aviation Regulations 2016.

- Bernama