Plane crash: Relative's call spurred us to check on Naim's status, says victim's father

Mohamad Naim Fawwaz Mohamed Muaidi's son - Mifzal, 8, performing final rites at his late father's funeral at Tanah Perkuburan Islam Sungai Kantan, Kajang. Tragedi yang berlaku pada 2.48 petang Khamis lepas menyaksikan sebuah pesawat ringan terhempas dan mengorbankan kesemua dua kru dan enam penumpang selain meragut nyawa dua pengguna jalan raya masing-masing seorang pemandu e-hailing dan penunggang p-hailing yang melalui tempat kejadian. --fotoBERNAMA (2023) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA

KAJANG: A call from a concerned relative was what spurred Mohamed Nuaidi Idris to check up on his son, Mohd Naim Fawwaz’s condition, and the subsequent discovery of his death when the Beechcraft Premier 1 he was onboard crashed near the Elmina Township, Shah Alam on Thursday (Aug 17).

Mohamed Nuaidi, 71, had earlier heard rumours that Mohd Naim, 35, was one of the victims in the crash, as he was reportedly a passenger onboard, but the call from his relative from Kuala Terengganu, who said he heard it from his child, a fellow pilot, sent chills through his spine.

"My relative called to ask whether I heard about Naim’s accident. When they posed the question, I felt there was something as Naim’s also a pilot,” he told reporters after his son’s funeral at the Sungai Kantan Muslim Cemetery here on Sunday (Aug 20).

The father, a government retiree living in Taman Maju Rapat, Ipoh, Perak decided to go to the nearest airport, the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh to seek confirmation about his son’s status at around 3pm that day, and was advised to go to a nearby police station, the Kampung Rapat police station for information about the incident.

"The police there assisted by contacting the Subang Airport but they were unable to confirm my son’s status at that time,” he said, adding that he and his daughter then left for Subang after Maghrib prayers and were then directed to the Klang district police headquarters.

They were informed of details of the crash there and went to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital to help with the identification of victims’ remains.

"After several processes, finally news of my youngest of three children’s death was confirmed,” Mohamed Muaidi said sadly, sharing that he had last met Mohd Naim during the Aidiladha celebrations and spoke to his son several times on the phone as he had a busy schedule as a pilot.

"Naim was committed to his work but would always come back to visit us, and he always took us out for meals... that was something of a routine every time he came back to Ipoh,” he said.- Bernama