Malaysian air force jet crashes into sea, pilot missing

KUALA LUMPUR:  A Malaysian fighter jet crashed into the sea off the eastern coast of southern Johor state and a search and rescue team was still looking for the missing pilot, air force officials said on Thursday. 

Wreckage of the BAE Hawk 108 jet was sighted early Thursday 10 nautical miles off Johor after the pilot lost contact Wednesday with the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Kuantan, north of the crash site.   

"Pieces of the fighter plane have basically been found but the pilot has not been found," airforce spokesman Zulkiflee Abdul Latiff told AFP.   

The 31-year old pilot, Muhammad Rohaizan Ab Rahman, was undergoing a normal training mission in the single-seater aircraft, he added.