A Malaysian Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) employee was killed after a landing Bombardier Challenger 300 struck his airport maintenance vehicle at Kuala Lumpur Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport last Monday. The twinjet, operated by Berjaya Air and registered as 9M-TST, was landing on Runway 15 on a charter flight from Jaipur, India.
According to reports, the aircraft was decelerating when the left wing struck and sheered off the roof of the vehicle during repairs to airfield lighting. The man was taken to the hospital and died the following day.
Muhammad Fauwaz, the captain of the Challenger, said he was given clearance to land on his second request to the tower after his first call went unanswered. In addition, he said the airport did not issue any Notams to indicate that work was being carried out, nor were there any beacon lights flashing on the vehicle.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and Transport Ministry’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) are currently investigating the accident. Two air traffic controllers were suspended in the wake of the accident.
In a statement, Berjaya Group executive chairman Vincent Tan blamed airport officials, citing their failure to give the pilots warning of the maintenance work. He also donated RM50,000 ($12,300) to the widow of the deceased airport employee.