Ulu Yam plane crash: Eagles, strong wind believe to be the cause
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KUALA LUMPUR: An attempt to avoid two eagles during windy weather is believed to have been the cause of the crash involving a Cessna 172 aircraft at the Batu Dam, Ulu Yam.
The pilot and two trainee pilots on board survived the crash but were injured.
Syed Haidhar Syed Zulkifli, 25, one of the trainee pilots, related this to his mother Sharifah Hatun Hanisah Syed Abd Rahman at the Emergency Ward of the Selayang Hospital following their rescue on Saturday.
"My son told me that strong winds were blowing when they tried to avoid the eagles, causing the aircraft to lose balance," Sharifah Hatun told reporters at the hospital.
The Cessna 172 plane from the Royal Selangor Flying Club crashed on a forested slope at the Batu Dam in the Batu Caves area here at around 5pm on Friday.
The other two on board were the pilot, Captain Saiful Farid Amri Amrizal, 22, and Shaiful Zafiq Razali, 24, also a trainee pilot.
Sharifah Hatun Hanisah was thankful that her son survived and praised the pilot for handling the aircraft well despite the critical situation.
"My son said the winds were very strong and the aircraft could not do a thing, but the pilot was efficient and made a crash landing," she said.
She also stated her disappointment with the media for spreading false news that her son and the two others were killed in the incident.
"I have heart problems and there are irresponsible quarters making assumptions on the Internet regarding the crash," she said.
However, she said the incident had not disheartened her eldest of four children from becoming a pilot.
Syed Haidar had been interested in flying since he was small and would continue training to complete his flying hours, she said. - Bernama
