Hawk 108 jet crash: 'I thought he was waving, so I waved back' - witness

A witness to the ill-fated Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Hawk 108 fighter jet, Siti Zamilah Mohd Hussin, 27, said she was surprised to see two men parachuting while she was sweeping the house in Kampung Pondok Pasir at around 12.30 today.

Zamilah said she heard a loud noise, before seeing the two men falling towards the back of her house.

“I was sweeping with my husband and I heard a loud noise. I thought it was a training. I saw the parachute and called my children. Not knowing anything, I saw him waving and I waved back.

READ: Two RMAF Hawk 108 fighter jet pilots killed in crash

“After that my husband said something had fallen and I said saw it too,” she said.

Meanwhile, other witnesses also saw the aircraft flying low over Kampung Yak Yah, Ibok, before it crashed.

According to Hafizuddin Yunus, 32, he was riding a motorcycle near the Kemaman Recreational Park and Mini Zoo at Bukit Takal, heading towards Kampung Ibok.

At that time, it was around 11am and the aircraft flew very low and it was dropping.

“It was really loud. After that the aircraft headed towards this direction and I was the first to witness it,” he said.

It was understood the crew that ejected themselves from the aircraft.

Earlier, the fighter jet that had lost contact with the base near the Terengganu-Pahang border around 11.30am today.

RMAF, in a statement released around 12.35pm today, said the fighter jet took off from the Kuantan air force base at 11am and lost contact 30 minutes later.