His pilot dream ends in tragedy

He couldn't forget the sight of a sole fighter jet streaking through the skies.

The sight was so seared into his memory that Singaporean Samuel Ling Shi Min, 25, vowed to take to the skies.

Yesterday, his quest came to a tragic end.

The former Chung Cheng High School and Tampines Junior College pupil died when his single-seat plane crashed into an oil palm plantation in Johor, Malaysia.

The plane went down yesterday afternoon in clear weather after taking off from a private flight school in Pontian, local police official Wan Razani Wan Ibrahim said.

Mr Ling, who was training to fly at a club based in Senai, died on the spot, reported Malaysia's The Star.

His body was found under the plane wreck in the plantation, said Mr Wan Razani.

Mr Ling was piloting the light aircraft, believed to be a Cessna, when it crashed at about 1.30pm in Kampung Parit Puasa in Ayer Baloi, about 16km from Pontian town.

Witness Mohd Shafian Buang, 15, said he was outside his house about 200m from the crash site when he noticed the aircraft spinning and plummeting to the ground.

He said: "I heard a loud crash and I rushed to the plantation to have a look. I was shocked to see a man lying face down beside the aircraft with severe head injuries."

Pontian police spokesman Tan Moh Chuan said MrLing's body has been sent to the Pontian Hospital for post-mortem.

Mr Ling, who held a Bachelor of Science degree in banking and finance from the London School of Economics, was driven to succeed.

He had described himself on his blog as someone who believes that he would succeed by knowing more than the layperson.

His blog posts date back to last September, with entries about aviation, music, finance and diving.

He wrote: "I remember vividly the event which shaped my life forever - a sole fighter jet screaming across the sky...

"I began my path towards becoming a pilot, fulfilling my personal promise to attain my dreams with my own strength," he wrote.

In his last blog post, dated July 2, Mr Ling described his first solo flight the day before, on the 9M-EYM aircraft, as a day to remember.

He detailed his experience setting off from the runway in Johor and landing the plane.

Wrote Mr Ling in his blog post: "And I took the aircraft down the centre line, all the time keeping in mind Captain Saddiq's fine teachings...10 feet off the runway, I flared the aircraft and pulled out the throttle to idle, giving the aircraft one of the most beautiful landings I've ever made!"

This article was first published in The New Paper.