JOHOR BAHRU, 4 June 2017:
The light aircraft that crashed on a yet-to-be opened flyover along the Nusajaya Pulai Highway here today was spotted flying low prior to the incident.
A witness, R. Murugam, 38 – a supervisor of a road construction project – said he and other workers were shocked to see the plane flying in such a manner.
“I was working under the flyover and suddenly, I saw the aircraft descending lower and lower before hitting the iron wall of the flyover,” he said when met at the scene.
Murugam said he immediately went to the scene to render assistance and saw three men already disembarked from the aircraft.
“I also asked them whether they were injured and offered to take them to hospital but they said they were fine. Firemen and the police arrived not too long after that,” he said, adding that he did not hear any explosion from the impact.
In the 10.15am incident, the Piper PA28 light aircraft belonging to the Elite Flight Club was reported to be on a training flight.
Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said there were three people on board and all of them escaped injuries.
“The aircraft belongs to the Elite Flight Club and was reported to be on a training flight. There were three people on board and all are safe.”
Azharuddin said the Transport Ministry’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau would conduct an investigation to identify the cause of the crash.
Meanwhile, Kulai Fire and Rescue Station chief Khairi Zainuddin said they sent a truck with an officer and six firemen to the scene to assess the situation after receiving a call at 10.29am.
Khairi said the firemen found a light aircraft on the flyover but the victims were not there as they had been rescued by passers-by.
He said the firemen monitored the situation as there was a fire risk due to fuel leakage from the aircraft.
“However, nothing untoward took place and we ended our operation at 12.34pm.”
Iskandar Puteri District Police chief, ACP Noor Hashim Mohamad, when contacted, said the scene of the mishap was a new route yet to open to traffic.
