Hawk 108: Decision on grounding aircraft after probe completed - Hisham

Senior Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said for the moment, the Hawk 108 fighter jets will continue to be used for training and operation.

He said any decision to ground the aircraft would only be made after the Special Investigation Board has completed its findings on the incident of the Hawk fighter jet which crashed in the Air Base in Butterworth, Penang last night.

He said the decision on the matter is also subject to the needs of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF).

"However, we are leaving the decision on the matter to the Special Investigation Board, the Chief of Defence Forces will report their needs,” he said in Malacca today.

Meanwhile, Hishammuddin also reminded that no parties should attempt to cloud the situation when the investigation is still going on.

He expressed his regrets and condolences to the families of the two pilots in the incident.

In the crash which occurred at 10.07pm yesterday, a Royal Malaysian Air Force pilot was killed while another was injured when both pilots were carrying out a training flight at the runway of Butterworth Air Base in Penang.

The Air Force Command in a statement last night said the dead victim was Captain Mohamad Affendi Bustamy while Major Mohd Fareez Omar who was injured in the crash, was being treated at Seberang Jaya Hospital in Penang and was reported to be in stable condition.

- Bernama