KUALA LUMPUR: Captain Iriyanto, the pilot of missing Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501, was described as a “caring man” and generous to a fault.
His nephew, identified only as Doni, told Indonesian news portal Detik.com yesterday that his uncle would go to any length to help those in need.
“He is always helping people because he is a caring person. If there is a sick relative in need of help or money, my uncle would be there,” said Doni.
“If any of the family members had financial problems, he would surely help,” said Doni, from Surabaya.
Iriyanto, he said, was married with two children.
The senior airline pilot, who has clocked 6,100 hours of flying time, was also a motorcycle enthusiast and a member of Indonesia’s Motor Besar Club (MBC), a club dedicated to superbikers.
An Indonesian news report had quoted MBC club chief Joko Bagus as saying that the club members planned to assemble at Iriyanto’s home as a show of support for his family.
“We will gather at Captain Iriyanto’s home to be with his family.
“We have no idea what happened to the plane, but we hope that it only lost its way and nothing bad has happened to it.”
Meanwhile, the sole British passenger aboard the missing flight was believed to be travelling with his 2-year-old Singaporean daughter after other family members boarded an earlier flight from Surabaya.
According to British news portal Mail Online, the man, Choi Chi Man, and his daughter, Zoe, were on their way to Singapore and had planned to meet up with the girl’s Singaporean mother.
The girl’s mother was believed to have caught an earlier flight from Surabaya with Zoe’s elder brother.
It was reported that Choi, who hails from Hull, Yorkshire, was the managing director of an energy company in Indonesia.
According to the passenger manifest, Choi had bought his and his daughter’s plane tickets on Boxing Day, and they were seated in the first row in seats 1B and 1C.
The authorities had earlier confirmed that the nationalities of the passengers, the majority of them Indonesians, included one Briton, one Singaporean, one Malaysian and three South Koreans.
It is believed that the South Koreans were a married couple travelling with their baby.
