One Passenger Killed, 5 Hurt as Malaysian Air Plane Crash Lands

One passenger was killed and five others were injured when a Twin Otter DHC6 plane operated by Malaysian Airline System Bhd.’s MASwings unit crash landed in eastern Sabah state.

The plane had a total of 16 passengers and crew on board, the airline said in a statement. The aircraft, flying from Kota Kinabalu, landed short of the runway in Kudat at 2:50 p.m. local time and the cause of the accident is not yet known, it said.

This is the first fatal plane accident in Malaysia since August 2009, according to Aviation Safety Network. The pilot of an Avcen Jetpod prototype was killed in that incident when the plane crashed immediately after takeoff during its maiden flight, according to the Network’s website.

Malaysian Air’s MASwings unit, started in October 2007, operates commuter airline services in the states of Sabah and Sarawak. The state-owned Malaysian Air in December ordered 36 turboprop planes for the MASwings and Firefly units.

(Editors: Vipin V. Nair, Suresh Seshadri)