UK Aviation Entrepreneur Dies in Malaysia Plane Crash

A British pilot who died when his plane crashed during a test flight in Malaysia (during takeoff from an airstrip in Taiping) on 16th August 2009 had been described as an aviation entrepreneur. The 53-year-old was flying a Jetpod aircraft, developed by his UK-based company, Avcen, when the accident happened. The plane, which was being tried out at the Tekah airstrip, is being developed to take off and land in short distances and cruise at low levels.
It would need only 125 metres (410ft) to take off or land, allowing runways to be constructed close to city centres, and would also be quiet enough not to be noticeable above the noise of city traffic.
Mohd Sobri Abdullah, the senior officer of the Taiping fire and rescue service, told the Malaysian Bernama news agency that fire and rescue personnel had been stationed at the airstrip at Avcen's request before the crash.
He said the plane had reached an altitude of 200 metres when it plunged to the ground and burst into flames. The Department of Civil Aviation was investigating the cause of the accident.