MH370: Last RMAF C130H aircraft returns home

The last Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) C130 Hercules aircraft which took part in the operation to find the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370, landed at the Subang RMAF base today at 11am.

The arrival of the aircraft, with 11 officers and 13 personnel, was received by RMAF First Air Division Commander, Major-General Datuk Azizool Arif Abdul Ghani, RMAF officers and families of the crew.

Met by reporters at a reception ceremony, Azizool Arif said the aircraft left the Pearce Air Force Base in Perth, Australia at 11pm local time on Friday and stopped by in Jakarta, Indonesia, before continuing the journey to the Subang RMAF Air Base.

"Three C130H from the number 20 RMAF squadron were sent to Perth to join seven countries in the effort to find flight MH370.

"Two aircraft had departed on March 28 while another on April 5. The two aircraft have returned home on April 30 with 19 officers and 35 personnel," he said.

He said they had shown a committed teamwork during the 42 days of the operation.

Meanwhile, Zubaidah Zahri, 41, the wife of pilot Major Mohammad Jafri Subuh, said she was thankful her husband had returned home safely.

Flight MH370 with 227 passengers and 12 crew left the KL International Airport at 12.41am for Beijing, China on March 8 before going off the radar an hour later.

On March 24, 17 days after the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft had gone missing, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that flight MH370 had ended in the southern Indian Ocean.