SINGAPORE – The bodies of two Malaysians on board a Singapore-owned light aircraft that crashed near a town west of Kuala Lumpur on the afternoon of Feb 13 have been found and recovered.
The victims have been identified as 30-year-old pilot Daniel Yee and 42-year-old passenger Roshaan Singh Raina, Malaysian news outlet The Star reported.
Their bodies were found in the cockpit and recovered at 8.05pm, said Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan. He told The Star the wreckage was buried 2m in the ground as a result of the crash’s impact.
He said earlier that both bodies would be taken to Klang Hospital for a post-mortem and identification by family members. Debris from the aircraft was found within a 50m radius of the crash site, he added.
About 130 to 150 personnel from various agencies were involved in the search operation and the Air Accident Investigation Bureau, under Malaysia’s Transport Ministry, will investigate the crash.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) earlier said the two-seater Blackshape Gabriel BK 160 aircraft, operated by the Air Adventure Flying Club, crashed near the town of Kapar in Selangor.
The aircraft had taken off from Subang Airport in Kuala Lumpur at 1.28pm for a recreational flight, CAAM said, and the last contact between the aircraft and the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre was at 1.35pm. No distress call was received.
CAAM added that the Kuala Lumpur Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre was activated immediately to locate the aircraft.
Fire and Rescue Department officer Ahmad Fuad Nasrudin told The Star earlier: “We are continuing our search and have found nothing at this point of time.
“We are also investigating to find out what could have happened (to the pilot and anyone else).”
In a video shared on social media, debris is seen falling from the sky. The caption states that two explosions were heard before the aircraft crashed to the ground.
According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, the aircraft – with registration code I-POOC – took off, flew southwards and made a right turn towards the west.
The aircraft then ascended to an altitude of 1,725ft (526m) and maintained an airspeed of around 130 knots (240kmh). At 5.35pm, it began losing altitude, with the last known flight data showing that it reached a vertical speed of negative 4,096ft (1,250m) per minute.
Vertical speed is a measure of the rate of an aircraft’s ascent or descent, indicated respectively by positive and negative values.
Speaking to The Straits Times over the phone, a spokesman for Singapore-based flight training company Aviation Safety Technology (AST), which owns the aircraft, said the plane was flying in preparation for the Singapore Airshow, which will take place from Feb 20 to 25.
AST’s website said the aircraft, along with other products, is part of the air show’s outdoor static display.
ST has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Air Adventure Flying Club for more information.
