KUALA LUMPUR: It is not everyday we get to see helicopters landing in our backyard, but that was the sight for a resident from Shah Alam near here who caught on camera a helicopter dropping off a child near a school.
In the April 17 incident, a white helicopter was allegedly seen landing at an empty plot of land behind a primary school in Shah Alam.
A resident staying nearby, who wanted to remain anonymous, shared a one-minute-long video of the helicopter landing in a field of a residential area to an online news portal, after he witnessed the chopper twice in his neighbourhood.
A photo posted on the news portal showed a child walking away from the helicopter with the pilot standing by the aircraft.
The child, dressed in a school uniform, was seen walking down the street towards the school's rear gate, before entering its compound.
This alleged incident of a helicopter landing at a field near a residential area is not the first in Malaysia. A similar incident occurred in July 2021 when a businessman sent his helicopter from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Ipoh in Perak to pick up 36 packets of nasi ganja.
The helicopter incident, which was also captured on video, became viral. The businessman was widely criticised for flaunting his wealth.
The helicopter pilot was charged almost a year later at the Ipoh magistrates court for swaying from his permitted travel path.
In this latest case, the resident told the news portal he did not manage to photograph the first time the helicopter landed in his backyard.
He, too, admitted to complaining about the helicopter landing to the school management, and since then he has not seen the helicopter in the neighbourhood since.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), when contacted for clarification on helicopter landings, said helicopters do not need clearance from air traffic control towers to land outside of an airport.
"Helicopters can land anywhere provided it is an open space and is safe for landing. However, they may require approval from the land owner, where the helicopter intends to land. CAAM does not have control of where a helicopter should or should not land, as long as the safety aspects are met," the spokesman said when contacted.
When asked if the helicopter in the April 17 incident had sought approval to fly and where did it take off from, the spokesman said CAAM would need time to trace the log and helicopter involved.
"Residents should lodge a complaint to CAAM if they want the matter to be investigated. As of now there are no complaints made to us about the Shah Alam incident," she said.