SHAH ALAM - A cockpit voice recorder and the bodies of victims were recovered on Thursday, after a light private business jet crashed onto a road, hitting two vehicles in the Malaysian state of Selangor.
The 10 who died in the crash comprised eight aboard the plane as well as two motorists – the driver of a car and a motorcyclist. The two motorists were hit by the falling plane near the township of Elmina in Shah Alam.
Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) collected the cockpit voice recorder and sent it for analysis.
“We have also found 10 bodies and five body parts,” Mr Hussein told reporters at the scene. “This means we have completed our search for the victims.”
Only one body from the crash was recovered intact – that of the motorcyclist, food delivery rider Muhamad Hafiz Muhamad Salleh. The other motorist who died was e-hailing driver Sharipuddin Shaari.
Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain told reporters on Friday that the plane, like some other light aircraft, did not carry a flight data recorder.
Motorists who recorded the plane crash with their vehicle dashcams have been urged to share their footage with investigators, he added.
The roads near the site of the crash were closed for investigations and reopened to motorists on Friday.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday visited the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang where the families and relatives of the victims were waiting for the post-mortem and identification process for the bodies. He said that assistance will be given to the victims’ next-of-kin.
The plane that crashed was a Beechcraft 390 (Premier 1) registered under the number N28JV.
The Transport Ministry said it will ask the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia to conduct an investigation into all such models used in the country.
AAIB officials and aviation experts from the United States will inspect the wreckage on Monday as part of the investigation into the cause of the crash.
The aircraft was operated by Jet Valet, an exclusive private flight service, and had left Langkawi on Thursday afternoon en route to Subang airport, less than 10km away from the site of the crash.
The plane was preparing to land and had been given clearance by air traffic control, said Mr Hussein, adding that it lost contact with the control tower two minutes before touchdown.
Among the victims on the flight was first-term Pelangai state assemblyman and Pahang executive council member Johari Harun.
The others on the plane were pilots Shahrul Kamal Roslan and Heikal Aras Abdul Azim, and the other passengers, Mr Khairil Azwan Jamaluddin, Mr Shaharul Amir Omar, Mr Mohamad Naim Fawwaz Mohamed Muaidi, Mr Muhammad Taufiq Mohd Zaki and Mr Idris Abdol Talib @ Ramali.
The sister of Mr Shaharul Amir, a retired Royal Malaysian Navy Commander, said he had taken a lot of selfies while in the aircraft before the tragedy struck.
“He had never shared so many of his selfies before in our family WhatsApp chat group,” said Ms Norsyahirah Omar.
“Maybe he knew his time was coming to an end,” she added. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
