Previous flight incident did not dampen flight instructor's passion for flying, says victim's aunt

IPOH: The flight instructor killed in the light aircraft crash at Jalan Dr Nazrin Shah, Sungai Rokam, Medan Gopeng here Monday (Aug 1) night had survived a previous aircraft incident.

Fajim Juffa Mustafa Kamal, 52, was reported to have spent several days stuck in a tree when the aircraft he was on suffered engine trouble when conducting training in 2004.

ALSO READ: Flying instructor killed in plane crash

According his aunt, who did not want to be identified, the incident did not dampen Fajim Juffa’s passion for flying.

"He never said he was scared or wanted to quit this field as he had a deep interest for it,” she said when met by reporters at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital forensics department early Tuesday (Aug 2) morning.

She said Fajim Juffa’s father also suffered the same fate and died in an aircraft incident around 1989.

Checks by Bernama indicated that relatives of the deceased, including his wife and daughters, had gathered at the grounds of the hospital around 1.20am.

ALSO READ: Thorough investigation on Ipoh plane crash underway, says Dr Wee

The aunt said they decided not to inform them about Fajim Juffa’s death until they arrived to avoid any untoward incidents on their journey here.

"I was close to him and he was a cheerful man who often brought his family to visit me,” she added.

Fajim Juffa, from Semenyih, Selangor was killed and fellow flight instructor Muhammad Din Fikri Zainal Abidin, 62, from Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, was injured when the light aircraft they were on crashed at around 8pm last night.

Both flight instructors were reported to have departed from a nearby flight training school before the incident occurred. - Bernama