File photo shows MH17 pilot, Wan Amran with his late mother Zainab Megat Fadhil. — Bernama photo
KUALA KANGSAR: “Aidilfitri will never be the same again without my uncle. It will be grim,” noted a teary-eyed Nur Suraya Dusuki.
She was talking fondly about her uncle, Wan Amran Wan Hussin, the pilot of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 which crashed after it was believed to have been shot down in Ukraine on Thursday.
There were 283 passengers and 15 crew on board the aircraft which was heading to Kuala Lumpur after departing Amsterdam at 12.15pm (Netherlands time) yesterday.
Nur Suraya, 29, said her 50-year-old uncle had planned to briefly return to their ‘kampung’ (village) on the first day of Hari Raya as he was scheduled to work during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
“He was a good person who appeared serious but liked to joke and make people laugh. He loved to give alms. He was the backbone of the family and helped the family a lot,” she told reporters at their family home in Kampung Jias, Kota Lama Kiri here yesterday.
Wan Amran’s loss will be felt by the entire family, especially Wan Aini, 61, who was the pilot’s sister and was closest to him.
Recounting her feelings when she heard about the crash, Nur Suraya said she was sad and shocked.
“I found out my uncle was in the list of victims as stated on the internet at midnight.
“We were all shocked and couldn’t say anything but cried out loud, we didn’t expect him to leave so tragically,” she added.
Nur Suraya said upon learning about the incident, their family members gathered before Wan Aini and other siblings left for Kuala Lumpur at 2am.
Wan Amran had told Nur Suraya that he was close to his colleague, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah who had piloted the MAS Flight MH370 aircraft on March 8, thsi year, before it vanished with passengers and crew in the southern Indian Ocean.
“My uncle told me that Captain Zaharie was a nice man and I never imagined he would share the same fate (as Zaharie),” she said.
Wan Amran was the seventh of 11 children born to Wan Hussin Wan Omar and Zainab Megat Fadhil.
Wan Amran is survived by widow, Mariam Yusuf, in her 40s, and their two sons. — Bernama