Police classify death of RMAF pilot under sudden death

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Police have classified the death of Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) pilot Capt Mohamad Affendi Bustamy in a crash involving the Hawk 108 fighter jet at the RMAF Butterworth Air Base during a training session on Tuesday under sudden death.

Penang Police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, however, said a thorough investigation into the incident would be carried out, including recording statements from another pilot Major Mohd Fareez Omar, 33, who was injured in the crash and is being treated at the Seberang Jaya Hospital (HSJ).

"As of now, police are investigating the case as sudden death, but we are also conducting further investigations. Other investigations, including from the technical aspect, are being carried out by the armed forces... we'll leave it to the army.

"Based on the autopsy information given by the Penang forensic medical expert, the cause of death of the RMAF pilot was due to multiple injuries consistent with the air crash," he told reporters here today.

In the 10.07 pm crash on Tuesday (Nov 16), both pilots were undergoing night flight training.

The RMAF Headquarters, in a statement, confirmed that Mohamad Affendi, 31, died while Mohd Fareez, sustained injuries and is reported to be in stable condition at the Seberang Jaya Hospital.

Commenting on the crash, Mohd Shuhaily said they received a report about the incident at 11.35 pm.

He said initial investigation revealed that the Hawk 108 fighter jet took off from the Butterworth Air Base for a night flight training.

"The training was being conducted at the Butterworth Air Base airspace. One hour into the training session, the aircraft crashed and exploded.

"Both pilots managed to eject from the aircraft. Unfortunately, one pilot died and the other suffered serious injuries," he said.

Earlier, Mohd Shuhaily attended the official opening of the Seberang Perai Tengah district police headquarters (IPD) that was officiated by Bukit Aman Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department (JPJKK) director Datuk Ramli Din.

-- BERNAMA