PETALING JAYA, March 16 — Zulkeflee Abu Mutalib. is used to hearing the sound of roaring jets when the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (Lima) exhibition is held.
What he heard yesterday, however, was totally different.
The sports club supervisor with Sheraton Langkawi Hotel was fixing his son’s bicycle outside their house at Kampung Gelam on the resort island when he heard a loud explosion.
The ground shook, he said later.
Two Indonesian trainer aircraft collided in mid-air during a routine practice ahead of this week’s Lima. One burst into flames near the Langkawi International Airport while the other crashed into Zulkeflee’s house.
“I was fixing my son’s bicycle tyre when I heard the explosion. The whole ground shook,” said Zulkeflee, 46.
One of the engines fell into his house, which was destroyed.
“The engine is still in my house. We were lucky it was a working day and no one was home. If it was aSaturday, the whole family would have been at home and I could have lost them. As it is, everything is destroyed,” he said.
Zulkeflee said the kitchen and bathroom of his brother’s house next door were also damaged.
His brother’s car and motorcycle were destroyed.
He said there were eight people including him and his wife, Ku Mahzurah Ku Mahmut, who lived in the house.
The couple has six children including eight-year-old triplets.
His father, Abu Mutalib Saib, 70, fainted when he saw the aftermath of the crash.
“He saw the house on fire and panicked. He has high blood pressure and collapsed. He was rushed to Langkawi Hospital and he’s doing fine now,” he said.
Having stayed in the house for 19 years, Zulkeflee said he had no intention of leaving despite the trauma the family experienced.
“This is my home. Of course, we are shaken. I take it as fate. Disasters can happen anywhere and it happened here today,” he said.
“I am not angry at anyone. We are used to having Lima here every two years. It is a routine to have them flying near our homes. As soon as one edition ends, we wait for the next one.”
Zulkiflee said the Defence Ministry would put the family up at a hotel and provide them with necessities.
“My neighbours and friends have also been coming the whole day to visit us and have given us items like foodstuff,” he said.
Neighbour Mak Ngah Timah said she and her husband were watching the planes at the airport from their verandah when they heard two loud “popping” sounds.
“We thought it was normal because of the planes flying. Then, we heard sirens and my husband said something is wrong. Someone came over and told us a plane had crashed so we went to see. The whole area was cordoned off but we saw one of the seats from the plane there,” she said.
“This airshow has always been too close for comfort. The houses and padi fields are directly in the flight path.
“I have experienced three Lima editions and to me, it was just a matter of time before something like this happened. The walls and windows of my house vibrate each time they practice and there is the strong smell of fuel.”
However, Mak Ngah Timah said the exhibition was a great event for visitors.
“But it’s not great for us who live here,” she said, adding that she, too, could have been a victim of the incident.
Raymund Wong reports that another witness, Dianne Soliano Guerzo, 32, was having lunch with her family outside her uncle’s house when the incident occurred.
“It was at about 2pm when we were watching them practise and having lunch when all of a sudden we saw smoke and flames from the planes,” she said.
She saw all four pilots parachuting down.
“We were shocked, there was a loud noise when the planes crashed to the ground,” she said, adding that her family’s home was not more 10km away from where the accident occurred.
“We didn’t expect anything like this.”
Fire and Rescue Department Director-General Datuk Wan Mohd Nor Ibrahim said the incident happened at 2.04pm when six KT-1B aircraft were flying near the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre (MIEC) before two of them collided in mid-air, reports Thasha Jayamanogaran.
The two Jupiter Aerobatic Team aircraft belonged to the Indonesian Air Force.
Two houses in Kampung Gelam caught fire after being hit by the debris.
“The first house was 90 per cent burnt while the second house was 20 per cent burnt,” Wan Mohd Nor said.
He debris from the second aircraft was found at a rubber plantation in Kedawang.
“The search and rescue mission headed by the Royal Malaysian Air Force responded within minutes and successfully rescued the four pilots in Kedawang, about 11.3km away from MIEC,” he said.
