May 29, 2015
By Roy Goh and Olivia Miwil
SAFE LANDING: Female flying student calmly
walks away from burning wreckage.
KOTA KINABALU: A trainee pilot counted
herself lucky to have escaped with only scrapes and bruises after the
helicopter she was flying crashed at the airport here yesterday at noon.
Fatin Nadeera Mohd Jeffrey, 21, was flying solo when the Bell
206D3 crash landed on its side on a grassy strip near the runway.
“My mind went blank for a few seconds when it happened. But when I
saw fire coming from the rear, I knew I had to get out of there,” she said.
Fatin calmly unbuckled her belt, stepped out of the wreckage and
walked away.
A fire and rescue team responding to the emergency reached her
within minutes.
Thick smoke was coming from the helicopter and the emergency
response team went to work dousing the wreckage with foam.
Fatin sustained a 10cm-long abrasion on the right knee and a
swollen right elbow.
“I am fine but I am still in shock,” she said at Queen Elizabeth
Hospital.
Her mother Aishah Otit, 58, said she was glad her daughter was “fine”
but she would make sure she received full medical attention.
“I believe she is a strong girl and I am confident that this will
not deter her from pursuing a career as a helicopter pilot,” she said of her
fifth child among seven children.
The USD2million (RM7.2 million) aircraft had crashed at the very
beginning of a 30-minute solo flight
required in the pilot’s training.
Fatin started on helicopter training with Layang Layang helicopter
academy last October.
Academy chief instructor Captain Sudhir Kumaren said Fatin had air
taxied the helicopter for about 2km when the accident occurred.
“She flew low and was waiting for clearance to take off. She was
supposed to fly for about 30 minutes as part of her training,” he said, adding
that it was not the first time she had flown solo.
“Our trainee is still in a state of shock but I am sure she will
go back to flying once she recovers.”
Fatin is one of the academy’s first batch of four trainee
helicopter pilots, who began flying in January, logging about 30 flight hours
each.
Sudhir said the academy had three helicopters, two for training
and the third as a spare.
The crashed aircraft would likely have to be written off because
of the extent of damage, he said.
“At this stage, we are not able to disclose much about the cause
of the accident but the department of Civil Aviation and police will conduct
investigations.”
City police chief Assistant Commissioner M.Chanda said the
department would handle the technical aspects of the problem while police would
check for foul play.
“Airport operations were halted for about 15 minutes to make sure
the runway was clear,” he said.
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