SEREMBAN, Sept 2 — For Captain Azlan Aboo Bakar, it was the “longest flight” ever in his career as he had the unenviable task of bringing home the remains of his two colleagues, who were also pilots.

“We often flew together and this time, we still did, but in different circumstances,” said Azlan, the pilot of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH19 which brought home the remains of nine victims of the MH17disaster from Amsterdam today.

Azlan said he felt different knowing that among the freight in the aircraft were a casket and an urn containing the remains of his colleagues, Captain Wan Amran Wan Hussin and Captain Eugene Choo Jin Leong, the pilots of MH17 which crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17.

He said the 12 hour and 14 minute flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur felt “empty”.

“It was horrible to face the moment. We were flying together (still), but it was different this time.

“Choo and I used to fly together to overseas destinations and this time, I felt empty and lonely knowing that I was bringing home his ashes,” he told reporters here today.

Azlan said he and Choo were close and they often planned family holidays together.

“Our 24 years of friendship is full of memories. Choo was committed to his job, loved and liked by all his friends,” he added.

He said Choo had almost 20 years of flying experience and was among the lecturers at the Malaysian Flying Academy (MFA) over the last five years.

He described Choo as a happy and jovial person who was full of humour and a caring husband and father.

“Two days before leaving for Amsterdam, he came over to my house to show off a high-powered motorcycle which he had just bought and that was the last time we met,” said Azlan, who also accompanied the urn bearing Choo’s ashes from KLIA to Choo’s residence at Sri Carcosa here.               

Choo left a wife, Ivy Loi, 42, and two sons, Melvic Choo, 13, and Scott Choo, 10.

Choo’s ashes will be kept at his residence until Thursday to allow family members and friends to pay their last respects before it would be taken to the Xiao En Memorial Park, previously known as the Nilai Memoral Park, in Nilai to be interred.

MH17 was carrying 298 passengers and crew when it crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, while heading to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft was believed to have been shot down although no party had admitted responsibility. — Bernama