Mr Purushottam was transferred to Mount Elizabeth Hospital on Tuesday afternoon where he underwent an operation to set his broken right leg. -- PHOTO: NSTPMALAYSIAN private flight school Elite Flying Club has suspended all flights following Monday's crash involving Singapore permanent resident Mr Sanjay Purushottam.
A school administrator told The Straits Times that it is making efforts to contact all its members to inform them of the suspension due to investigations into the crash.
The school, one of at least four in Johor Bahru, has about 70 members, mostly made up of Singaporeans.
Mr Purushottam, 40, took off in one of the school's two two-seater Cessna 152 aircraft at about 9.40am on Monday from Senai Airport. He was on a navigational exercise to obtain his private pilot's licence (PPL) and was scheduled to arrive at Batu Berendam airport in Malacca at 10.50am.
About 30 minutes into the flight, he ran into difficulties and asked for permission to turn back before losing contact with air-traffic controllers.
He was found alive by rescue workers about seven hours later, trapped in the seat of his aircraft, at the Gunung Pulai forest reserve near the town of Kulai.
He was transferred to Mount Elizabeth Hospital on Tuesday afternoon where he underwent an operation to set his broken right leg.
A colleague said on Wednesday that the operation 'went well' and that Mr Purushottam, who is a senior manager at Standard Chartered Bank, is expected to make a full recovery.
Experienced pilots said that they usually avoid the air space above Gunung Pulai due to its hilly terrain which peaks at about 654m.
Light aircraft such as the Cessna 152 usually fly between 457m to 610m.
Flight routes are normally planned so that aircraft fly around Gunung Pulai instead, said Mr B.C. Lee, 58, flight instructor and manager of the Republic Of Singapore Flying Club.
'Gunung Pulai is the main obstacle on the flight to Malacca from Senai. As a pilot, you must have a visual with the ground and know where the hills are to avoid them,' said Mr Lee.
Mr Lee, who has clocked about 5,000 hours of flying, also helps to conduct Elite Flying Club's navigational courses.
While he did not want to speculate what might have caused Monday's crash, he added that the weather plays a major role in ensuring safety. At least three Singaporean pilots said that they have had to abort flights or turn back shortly after take-off from Senai Airport due to unfavourable weather conditions recently.
In Singapore, there is one other flight school - Seletar Flying Club - which is open to members of the public.
Trainees have to clock 40 hours of flying to get a Private Pilot Licence (PPL), although most clock end up clocking an average of between 50 and 60 hours.
Once they have clocked about 20 hours, they are eligible to fly solo. The navigational component of the flying course is necessary for trainees to attain a full PPL which allows them to do cross-country flights.
Due to Singapore's restricted air space, flight schools here are known to arrange tie-ups with their Malaysian counterparts.
Singaporeans are also known to flock to Johor Bahru to take up flying as it is cheaper and offers a 'more scenic' flight.
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