Piecing the events together: Air Accident Investigation Bureau personnel transporting the engine of the aircraft from the crash site in Kampung Tok Muda in Kapar for further investigation. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Friends of Daniel Yee Hsiang Khoon, who perished in the Kapar light aircraft crash, described him as a passionate individual with a deep enthusiasm for flying.
“Daniel (Yee) always dreamed of flying. And he knew he was going to. And he did,” his friend Jeremy Ng posted on Facebook.
Ng attached a song he had written for Yee nine years ago for the latter’s film thesis in college.
“I remember writing him a song for his film thesis in college, and it was about a pilot who lost the ability to fly.
“Fly on, Daniel. We’ll catch you again on the oceans high above the skies one day,” Ng said.
Another friend, Ethan Pang, said Yee lived his life doing what he loved, which was flying. The unfortunate news on Tuesday was a blow to Pang.
“I never thought a random piece of news could actually be this close to me.
“I celebrate a passionate person like Daniel Yee who lives his life doing exactly what he loves.
“Though I don’t like to celebrate his departure. I can’t,” Pang wrote in his post.
The remains of Yee, 30, have been returned to his family from Penang. They claimed the body at about 6.08pm yesterday after the post-mortem concluded earlier at 12.15pm.
The body of passenger Roshaan Singh Raina, 42, which had been claimed earlier, arrived in Johor, where a wake will be held today.
Roshaan was a member of a recreational flight club called Air Adventure Club, where Yee was a flight instructor.
According to the club’s website, Yee had a European Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence and a Malaysian Instructor Rating under his belt.
He was described as a passionate instructor.
“Daniel (Yee) can train you seven days a week, (be) passionate and ready for more students; he is ready to share with you his knowledge,” it read.
Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the Social Welfare Department has mobilised psychological support for the next of kin of the crash victims.
She said the department’s officers promptly responded by offering their services upon learning about the incident that occurred in Kampung Tok Muda in Kapar, Klang, on Tuesday.
North Klang District Police Chief ACP S. Vijaya Rao said the post-mortem revealed that both victims suffered multiple injuries.
He also said that the identities of both victims were confirmed after fingerprint identification was done.
“The police are cooperating in the transportation of the bodies to the locations designated by the families,” he told a media briefing at the Forensic Department of Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah in Klang yesterday.
ACP Vijaya added that police had recorded statements from five witnesses regarding the incident.
“These five individuals witnessed the incident, and their statements have been recorded to assist in the investigation,” he said.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said police are looking into claims that the unfortunate flight had no flight recorder.
He said the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia was also conducting its own probe.
It was earlier reported that an anonymous source from a Transport Ministry agency claimed that the lack of flight data recording equipment was complicating investigations into the cause of the crash.
Also known as a black box, a flight recorder is a device in an aircraft that collects flight data.
According to online flight data tracker flightradar24, the BK 160 Gabriel aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 525m (1,725ft) at about 1.35pm.
The plane then started to lose altitude about 20 seconds later.
