MORE Pics - CRASH LANDING of CESSNA Aircraft at KL-SEREMBAN HIGHWAY; HIT LAMPOST broke WING; 2 PILOTS warded KL HOSPITAL

The experimental plane came to a halt with a broken wing

At about 3.30 pm today, a light weight 500 kg experimental aircraft was landing at the old airport in Sungei Besi airforce base when a strong gust of wind swept the two-seater single prop aircraft onto the busy KL-Seremban highway. The unscheduled landing attracted a large crowd of onlookers wanting to find out what was happening and a resulting massive traffic jam which lasted for more than an hour

Above: The crashed lamp post knocked down by the plane

According to a police spokesman, the aircraft hit a lamp post and broke its right wing and came to a halt. The pilot and co-pilot were slightly injured and taken to the KL Hospital for observation and treatment. The civil defense department and the RMAF rescue team cleared the aircraft off the road with police assistance.

Eventually a large crane was employed to lift the damaged aircraft slowly back to the hangar at the airport for a thorough D CA investigation.

The hoisted plane being guided back to the airport hangar

and here are the confliting reports from the papers

First Bernama reported yesterday that the light plane was coming in for a landing when a gust of wind forced it down in the highway... and later, "a crane was used to lift the aircraft" into the air base.

But the NST published a report today which had the plane experiencing difficulties while 'taking off'. And after the crash, the plane was 'towed to the air force base".

And The Star has a rather more dramatic account today, with the plane 'wrecked' after 'coming to a screeching halt' after it landed in the highway.

But at least one aspect of the incident appears to be conclusively proven true from the item in The Star - there was a Bernama pix which showed the plane [damaged but not quite wrecked in my opinion] being lifted by a crane, and not 'towed' as NST had it.

As for the time of the incident, it was at 3.26pm [so precise!]... or 3.45pm... or 3.30pm... depending on which account you read. I would have been more comfortable with 'about 3:30pm'.

These discrepancies in reporting are a big problem as most reporters are not witnesses to what was happening. And when under a deadline would sometime speculate as to what was happening and relied on heresay evidences in filing their reports.

the Bernama report

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=208290

Light Aircraft Lands On Highway, Causes Massive Traffic Jam
July 15, 2006 18:03 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 (Bernama) -- A light aircraft made an emergency landing on the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Highway, bringing traffic on the busy stretch adjacent to the Sungai Besi Air Force station to a standstill Saturday.

The yellow-coloured private experimental aircraft was descending on the runway when a strong gust of wind blew the 500kg two-seater, single-prop aircraft onto the busy highway at 3.26pm.

The aircraft then hit a lamp post and landed on the road before coming to screeching halt, a Royal Selangor Flying Club spokesman told Bernama.

He said the pilot and co-pilot were not injured in the incident.

The spokesman said the Civil Defence Department and Royal Malaysian Air Force rescue team cleared the aircraft from the road with police assistance. A crane was used to lift the aircraft, believed to be privately owned, into the air station.

The spokesman said the aircraft was not owned by the Royal Selangor Flying Club or the airforce. Traffic movement returned to normal at about 4.30pm when the road was cleared of the aircraft.

It is learnt the Department of Civil Aviation will conduct an investigation
into the incident. -- BERNAMA
and the NST account
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Sunday/National/
20060716080047/Article/index_html

Aircraft blown off course, lands on highway; 16 Jul 2006

KUALA LUMPUR: A two-seater Zodiac CH701 aircraft crash landed on the Sungei Besi Highway after it veered off its landing path.

The yellow aircraft, operated by the Royal Selangor Flying Club, was taking off at 3.45pm yesterday when it experienced difficulties, forcing the pilot to attempt an emergency landing at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base.

It is learnt the pilot was blown off course by strong winds.

The aircraft clipped a street light and damaged its right wing before coming to an abrupt halt on the highway, narrowly missing several cars. Traffic police sealed off a stretch of the north-bound highway near the air base.

The pilot and co-pilot were unhurt and air force emergency services personnel sprayed foam on the aircraft. The aircraft, imported from the Czech Republic, was towed to the air force base.

teh STAR account
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/7/16/nation/
14854584&sec=nation

Aircraft makes emergency landing on highway; Sunday July 16, 2006

KUALA LUMPUR: It wasn't the usual jam-causing mishap that motorists saw at the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Highway.

A light aircraft made an emergency landing on the highway and brought peak hour traffic to a standstill for over an hour.

Pilots Lee Chong Yen, 69, and Atan Akmar Masbah, in his 50s, escaped the crash landing on the road adjacent to the Sungei Besi Air Force without injuries. Their CH-701 two-seater aircraft was, however, wrecked in the 3.30pm incident.

The yellow-coloured privately-owned aircraft was descending onto the runway when a strong gust of wind blew the 500kg single-prop aircraft onto the busy highway.

It hit a lamp post and landed on the road before coming to a screeching halt, according to a Royal Selangor Flying Club spokesman.

The spokesman said the Civil Defence Department and Royal Malaysian Air Force rescue team cleared the aircraft from the road with police assistance. Traffic movement returned to normal about an hour later.