Malaysia suspends use of British-made Hawk fighter jets
Malaysia’s air force today grounded its British-made Hawk fighter jets after one of them was feared to have crashed during stormy weather in a training flight over the South China Sea.
Marine police have recovered metal pieces believed to be part the Hawk 208 jet’s wings, but there was still no trace of its pilot, who might have ejected to safety, said air force chief Nik Ismail Nik Mohamed.
“In the meantime, all operations involving Hawk aircraft have been suspended … until we are satisfied that the crash was not caused by technical problems,” Nik Ismail said, adding that an inquiry panel would investigate the incident.
Malaysia bought 28 Hawk jets in 1995. One crashed off a Malaysian island in Borneo last June, killing one pilot. Results of the investigations into the crash were not made public.
