Hawk crash: Family escorts pilot's remains back to hometown for burial

BUTTERWORTH: Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) pilot Capt Mohamad Affendi Bustamy, who was killed in a Hawk 108 fighter jet crash at the RMAF Butterworth air base in Butterworth, here, last night will be buried in his hometown of Muadzam Shah, Pahang, today.

The deceased's younger sister, who wanted to be known only as Nur, said she and her brother's wife, Nurul 'Izati Shari, 31, came to the Seberang Jaya Hospital forensics department to identify her brother's body before bringing his remains back to his hometown in Muadzam Shah after the autopsy was done.

"My brother came here (RMAF Butterworth Air Base) to undergo flight training. He and his wife live in Labuan. She was in Kelantan on leave when the accident happened and we both rushed here when the RMAF informed us of what happened," he told Bernama when met at HSJ, here, today.

Nur, who broke down several times, said her 31-year-old brother was the eldest of three siblings and a responsible and kind person.

Mohammad Affendi's remains were taken to the RMAF Butterworth Air Base today after the postmortem was completed and will be flown to Muadzam Shah, accompanied by RMAF Butterworth Air Base commander, Brig Gen Shaiful Azuar Ariffin.

Mohammad Affendi, was in the Hawk fighter jet with another pilot, Major Mohd Fareez Omar, 33, undergoing night flight training when the crash occurred at around 10.07 pm on Tuesday (Nov 16), killing Mohammad Affendi and injuring Mohd Fareez.

Mohd Fareez's father Omar Deros, who is in his 60s and lives in Selangor, said he was grateful that his son was safe but saddened by Mohamad Affendi's death. He and his family rushed to Butterworth immediately after learning of the crash, arriving here at 8 am this morning.

"Alhamdulillah Fareez is safe, as a family, we are thankful that he was only injured...the RMAF informed us that he is safe and under observation," he said, adding that they had not been allowed to see Fareez yet, who is scheduled to undergo an unspecified surgery.

Meanwhile, a check by Bernama at 8.50 am outside the RMAF Butterworth Air Base near Kampung Bengali, Sungai Puyu, Butterworth found that a group of RMAF personnel were conducting investigations into the crash at the runway area.

-- BERNAMA