LANGKAWI: A 28-year-old trainee pilot escaped with minor injuries when the aircraft she was piloting skidded off the Langkawi International Airport (LIA) runway as it touched down about 8pm.
It was learnt that more than 100 passengers were stranded at the airport after two flights were delayed following the incident, including several media practitioners who had attended a three-day retreat here.
State Fire and Rescue Department director Sayani Saidon said rescuers from the Langkawi fire station were despatched to the scene after receiving a distress call about 8.15pm.
"The first responders saw that it involved a Diamond-14 training aircraft that had skidded off the runway. It was believed that the incident occurred as the aircraft was landing.
"The victim had minor injuries to the midsection part of her body and both knees. She was taken to the Sultanah Malina Hospital for further treatment," she said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Putrajaya Media Club secretary Samantha Tan, one of the stranded passengers, said her flight was supposed to depart from LIA to klia2 at 8.10pm.
"The aircraft was waiting for its turn to take off when the pilot informed us that there was a minor incident at the end of the runway.
"There was a second announcement stating that an ambulance was helping the victim and our aircraft had to wait for clearance to take off.
"But, after a while, came a third announcement to inform us that our aircraft had to turn back to the bay for refuelling," she said.
Tan, a Bernama journalist at its Putrajaya bureau, said most of the passengers seemed restless due to the delay.
She added that the flight crew had distributed meals to the passenger.
Tan was one of the representatives of media clubs and media associations nationwide who took part in a national media clubs retreat which ended today.