Pilot of missing helicopter found dead, Perak police say

The pilot of a helicopter that went missing in Bidor after losing contact with the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Tower (KLATCC) yesterday was found dead at the crash site, says Perak police chief Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri.

He said the body was found in the cockpit of the helicopter by members of the search and rescue (SAR) team this morning.

"A Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) helicopter found the location of the crash at about 9.30am in the Chikus forest reserve area. Five minutes later, the RMAF crew went down to the location and found the victim in the cockpit.

"The body was brought out from the crash site at 10.12am and taken to SMK Anderson in an ambulance and then sent to Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun in Ipoh for " post-mortem,” he told reporters at the SAR operations room at the Bidor police station today.

He identified the pilot as Hong Kong citizen Tsz Kin Richard Chan, 58, whose family members have been informed of the incident.
 
Yusri said the wreckage of the Eurocopter aircraft, which is owned by a private company, had been handed over to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) for further action.

Yesterday, Transport Minister Wee Ka Sing was reported to have said that the helicopter lost contact with KLATCC at 12.16pm before CAAM reported it as missing.

The aircraft’s last known location was a forest area near Bidor.

It took off from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport at 11.37am yesterday and was supposed to have returned at 12.37pm.