A FLYING instructor was killed when his light aircraft crashed on Jalan Dr Nazrin Shah, Ipoh, this evening.

Perak police chief Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said the body of Major (retd) Fajim Juffa Mustafa Kamal, 52, was retrieved from the wreckage at about 9.20pm.

“Another flying instructor Muhammad Din Fikri Zainal Abidin, 62, survived and has been rushed to Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, Ipoh, for treatment.

“We are still investigating the cause of the incident,” he was quoted as saying by news reports from the crash site.

Mior said the families of both pilots have been informed.

“We believe they were flying from a nearby flying school. Fajim was from Semenyih and Din Fikri was from Bukit Damansara,” he said.

Fajim flew jet fighters for the Royal Malaysian Air Force before retiring and joining the private sector in 2018.

In 2004, he survived a crash when his MiG-29 developed engine trouble. The following year, he was among those trying out to become Malaysia’s first astronaut.

It was reported earlier this evening that the Fire and Rescue Department said it received a distress call at 8.10pm.

Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong described the crash as a serious incident and said a thorough investigation would be carried out. – August 1, 2022.