Malaysian jet pilot studied aviation in PH

MANILA, Philippines—Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, trained at the Philippine Airlines (PAL) Aviation School in Pasay City in 1980-81, according to a source at the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

At the time, the PAL flying school conducted its flight training at the periphery of the then Manila International Airport.

PAL, which used to monopolize commercial air travel in the country, was government-controlled from the late 1970s to 1992.

The CAAP source, however, said official records of Zaharie, if any, had yet to be located.

The source, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to talk to media, said the information about Zaharie’s training here came from the “members of the aviation community” who were familiar with Zaharie and Malaysia Airlines pilots.

“It would most probably be the school which would still have his records,” the source said.

Records such as student pilot’s licenses, if any, from the CAAP’s predecessor, the Air Transportation Office, were not computerized and most probably had been shredded.—Jerome C. Aning