SEPANG: The treasured moments he had shared with the late Capt Wan Amran Wan Hussin, one of the pilots of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17, drew fellow MAS pilot Capt Abu Samah Yahya to attend the ceremony honouring MH17 tragedy victims at the Bunga Raya Complex of the KL International Airport here.
The remains of Wan Amran were among the nine brought home from Amsterdam today.
Abu Samah, who had piloted an aircraft from Madinah to Kuala Lumpur yesterday, said his recent stay in the Saudi Arabian city had him recall the treasured moments he had shared with Wan Amran.
Despite feeling tired after having arrived only yesterday evening from Madinah, he decided to attend the ceremony to pay his last respects to his colleague.
"We performed the umrah together. I remember that he had a favourite spot to pray in Makkah and because of that we always had to go early so that we got to pray at that spot," he said when approached by reporters at the ceremony.
Abu Samah was among the 50 MAS pilots and other crew, all in full uniform, who were present to pay their last respects to the victims of the MH17 tragedy.
Meanwhile, chief pilot Datuk Capt Missman Leham, who used to fly with Wan Amran, described Wan Amran as such a friendly and jovial person that being with him made long flights seem short.
This was shared by Capt Hadi Rahimi, who had piloted aircraft with Wan Amran on several occasions.
"He always respected others, even those who were younger than him," he said.
Another pilot, Capt Ronald Lee, said that with the passing of MH17 pilot
Capt Eugene Choo Jin Leong, he had lost not only a colleague but also a 'fitness buddy'.
"We would always remind each other of the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle," he said, adding that Choo had been active in extreme sports.
Lee said he himself did not like extreme sports, and had gotten Choo to play golf instead.
Meanwhile, air stewardess Teng Siew Eng, said her attendance at today's ceremony was to deliver a personal note from members and former members of the MAS family to family members of the MH17 victims.
Wan Amran and Choo were the pilots of Flight MH17 that went down in eastern Ukraine on July 17 while heading to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam with 298 passengers and crew on board.
The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down although no one had admitted responsibility. - BERNAMA