By Farrah Naz Karim

PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: Police have re-opened investigations into the crash of the Diamond Star DA40 light aircraft which claimed the life of a trainee pilot in August. This follows publication of a New Straits Times report yesterday that three commercial trainee pilots are being investigated by the Department of Civil Aviation for possible negligence resulting in the crash.

Police had initially classified the case as sudden death but Terengganu deputy Criminal Investigation Department chief Superintendent Khairi Ahrasa said police would now liaise with DCA officials who were also looking at negligence as the cause of the crash.

The crash, which occurred in the jungles of Terengganu on Aug 20, claimed the life of trainee pilot Muhammad Ariff Ahmad Fuad.

It was revealed that Ariff, 20, and his pilot, who were in one aircraft, were involved in a game with a second aircraft after taking off from the Sultan Mahmud Airport in Terengganu for instrument training.

Khairi said they would look into the possibility that the three trainee pilots had failed to observe the standard operating procedures.

"The DCA is conducting its own investigations and now we have also began our own investigations into the matter," he said.

Malaysia Airlines confirmed that the three trainee pilots werer sponsored by the airline.

An official from the national carrier said the airline had not terminated the sponsorship of the three as the investigations were still going on.

Checks with the DCA revealed that instrument flight rules state that flights should be 1,000 feet (304 metres) above the highest obstacle within a horizontal distance of four nautical miles from the course.

In mountainous areas, an aircraft has to be 2,000 feet or 609 metres above the highest obstacle.

It is, however, believed that this ruling was not adhered to during the incident.

What was more shocking was that soon after the crash, the second aircraft returned to base and the trainee pilots went missing for over three days.

It was only after investigators revealed that there were two aircraft involved in the training did the pilot and the co-pilot of the second aircraft surface to reveal what had happened.

The four trainee pilots are believed to be students of a flying school based in Langkawi.

Ariff's plane went off the radar shortly after taking off at 4.40pm.

The wreckage was found about 8km from Bukit Bidong Darat, near Setiu.

Ariff, who was pinned to his seat, is believed to have been killed on impact.

The pilot, Mohd Farid Abdullah, 21, who suffered serious injuries, survived 14 hours of agony before being found near the wreckage the next morning.