IPOH: Housewife P. Susila was stunned when she heard a loud bang and saw the object that crashed into her garden here yesterday, just metres from where she was standing – it was an aeroplane.
The two-seater Eagle 150B was largely intact and was upside down with its nose embedded in a patch of plants in Susila's nicely-maintained garden in Taman Chempaka. The wingtips had just missed the boundary wall and a pillar. A set of garden furniture just metres from the wreckage was untouched.
Relating the 1.30pm incident Susila, 49, said: “I was inside the house when I heard a loud noise. When I looked out of the door to check, I was stunned to see the plane in my garden, just metres from my doorstep.
”The two-seater Eagle 150B trainer aircraft crashed-landed in the garden of a double-storey link house in Taman Cempaka, Ipoh, Thursday. The trainer and trainee pilot survived the crash.
Soon after, several people were shouting at her to tell her to open the gate so that they could help the two pilots who were still in the cockpit, she added.
Trainer Mohamad Faizal Kamaruddin, 37, and his 23-year-old trainee Ahmad Tarmezee Ahmad Lotpi were in the airplane belonging to an aviation institute here.
It is believed that the pilot had lost control of the aircraft before it crash-landed into Susila’s compound.
Ipoh traffic chief Deputy Supt Mohd Rodzi Rajab said the two men, who were badly injured but in stable condition, had been admitted to the Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun.
Police said they were still investigating the incident and had yet to identify who was flying the airplane.
Chia Kwan Hong, who was having lunch nearby said he saw the plane hitting a tree first before it crash-landed.Chia, a 25-year-old computer salesman, said he and his father Kook Kheong, 51, rushed to the crash site to see if they could help the survivors.After 20 minutes, rescuers managed to free the two men from the wreck and rushed them to hospital.
(the above is an extract from TheStar Online)
Author's Note: The Eagle 150B was originally an Australian design but Composite Technology Research Malaysia has since bought the license and the aircraft is now being manufactured in Malaysia and widely used for training potential airline pilots.
I have personally seen this aircraft fly and perform aerobatics at Simpang Airfield, which also happens to be the Royal Malaysian Air Force museum. The Eagle 150 is a very capable trainer and there really hasn't been a lot of incidents related to the aircraft in its 10 years in service.
The official accident report has not been released so I shall not speculate on the reasons for the crash. Nonetheless, the photographic evidence does seem to suggest either engine failure or pilot error contributing to a stall.
To digress a bit, I also find the reporters choice of words a little awkward. The flying instructor was referred to as a trainer???
Airplanes used for training pilots are called trainers. In England, sport shoes are called trainers. People who coach trainee pilots are NOT trainers... they are called flying instructors! FFS.
