At least 10 people, including a state assemblyman, were killed when a light private business jet crashed onto a road, hitting two vehicles, in the Malaysian state of Selangor on Thursday, said local police.
In videos of the incident that have been viewed by hundreds of thousands on social media, thick smoke can be seen billowing from charred patches on the road near the township of Elmina in Shah Alam.
The 10 who died in the crash comprised eight aboard the plane and two motorists – the driver of a car and a motorcyclist – who were hit by the crashing plane, the police said.
The Transport Ministry confirmed that one of the victims was Pahang state assemblyman Johari Harun, 54, who was fielded as a new Barisan Nasional candidate in the 2022 general election. He won the Pelangai state seat in the Bentong parliamentary constituency.
Videos shared on social media showed images of bodies on fire on a street that police have identified as near the Guthrie Highway and close to Central Park in the Elmina Valley residential area. Vehicle parts were also seen strewn across the ground.
Witnesses who spoke to Malaysian media said they felt helpless upon seeing the motorcyclist on fire and screaming.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) confirmed that the crashed plane is a Beechcraft 390 registered under the number N28JV.
It was operated by Jet Valet, an exclusive private flight service, and had departed Langkawi at 2.08pm en route to Subang airport, less than 10km away from the site of the crash.
Subang airport’s air traffic control observed smoke originating from the Elmina crash site at around 2.50pm, but no distress call was made by the aircraft, said Captain Norazman Mahmud, the CAAM’s chief executive officer.
The plane was carrying six passengers and two crew members, he added.
It was preparing to land and had been given clearance by air traffic control, said Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan, adding that the jet lost contact with the control tower two minutes before touchdown.
The fire and rescue department managed to put out the fire in 10 minutes, he added.
Police said they are still investigating the crash.
Jet Valet pledged full cooperation with the investigation.
Malaysia’s King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, visited the crash site at around 5.30pm.
In a statement posted by Istana Negara, the King and Queen expressed their sadness over the sudden death of Mr Johari and the other victims. They hoped the families would be patient and persevere in the face of this tragedy.
Caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari expressed his condolences on X – formerly known as Twitter – and called on all parties to avoid circulating images of the victims and speculating about the incident, out of respect for the victims’ families.
Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke held a press conference at Subang airport on Thursday evening to address questions about the crash. “The mission to recover the black box is under way,” he said.
He revealed the identities of the eight victims on board the plane, and said the authorities are working on identifying the two motorists through a forensic process.
Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said the cockpit voice recorder, one of the components of the black box, was found at 10.20pm.
“The team will continue to search for another component, which is the flight data recorder,” he was quoted as saying in New Straits Times.
This is the second time a plane has crashed at the site.
In September 1977, a Japan Airlines plane that departed Hong Kong and was headed for Subang struck a hill during a thunderstorm and crashed at the Elmina Estate, which was then a rubber plantation, reported The Star.
The accident killed 34 of the 79 people on board.
- Additional reporting by Hazlin Hassan
