PETALING JAYA: A Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Hawk 108 fighter jet crashed at the Butterworth Air Force base in Penang tonight.
According to a tweet by defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein, one of the two RMAF pilots on board died, while the other was injured.
He added that RMAF has been instructed to provide a more detailed report and investigate the cause of the incident.
Hishammuddin also conveyed his condolences to the family of the deceased pilot and said that the injured co-pilot has been sent to a health facility for emergency medical attention.
He then instructed the defence ministry to immediately channel help to the families of both men involved.
In a statement, RMAF said the crash happened at around 10.07pm at the base’s runway, adding that it had taken “immediate action” and would provide more updates as soon as possible.
It also urged people not to spread any unverified information, especially on social media.
The last incident involving an RMAF Hawk 108 fighter jet was in 2017, when one crashed in a swamp in Chukai, Terengganu, killing both pilots onboard.
Bernama reported that between 1996 and 2017, there were nine incidents involving RMAF Hawk 108 fighter jets.
Meanwhile, the most recent crash at the Butterworth Air Force Base occurred on Dec 21, 2016.
It involved a Beechcraft B200T aircraft which was used for training purposes. The pilot was killed while three officers were injured in the crash.