Too early to say if ill-fated RMAF plane sent 'mayday' call

GEORGE TOWN: It is still too early to say if a "mayday" call was issued when a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) reconnaissance aircraft crashed on Wednesday afternoon.
Air Force Chief General Datuk Seri Affendi Buang said the accident happened after the aircraft was on a roll and taking off.
He said this happened at a take-off-and-landing exercise at the RMAF Butterworth base on the mainland.
Affendi said he hoped the evidence being gathered now can help investigators determine the cause of the crash.
He declined to elaborate when asked on reports the aircraft was trying to avoid an ammo dump and if the black box of the aircraft was recovered.
"At the moment, it is a bit too early to say," he said in a press conference today with Defence Minister Datuk Hishamuddin Hussein and Armed Forces Chief General Tan Sri Raja Mohammad Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor.
Hishamuddin had earlier visited RMAF Captain Wai Lik, 26, and Sergeant Mohd Sofi Azizan, 29, who both have been warded at the Penang Hospital following the 5.18pm incident involving a Beechcraft B200T airplane.
The crash killed Major C. Kayamboo, 45, while another survivor, Lieutenant Hamid Ahmad Hanafi, 26, has been transferred to a military hospital in Kuala Lumpur to continue his treatment.
Affendi said the investigation will take "a few weeks" depending on the evidence collected.
He said more time may be needed if the parts recovered from the wreckage needed to be sent to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for analysis.
"All this will take time, when we have the results an official announcement will be made," he added.
Hishamuddin meanwhile said the father of Wai accepted as fate what happened to his son.
"This is the sacrifice of a father who knows the duties placed on the shoulders of his son," he said and expressed his hope the incident will not be repeated.
On aid to the family of Kayamboo, RM22,000 from the National Warriors and Defence Trust Fund (TAPPN) will be given to them.
The family will also receive in stages RM400,000 from salary advances, group insurance, pension awards, replacement leave benefits and the RMAF Welfare Fund while the wife will receive a monthly RM2,300 pension.
The families of those injured meanwhile will each receive RM10,000 while the children of those involved in the accident are to be aided to get ready for school in 2017.
Hishamuddin also visited the family of Kayamboo where he spent some time with family members there.