The pilot of a light aircraft which crashed in dense jungle in Selangor five days ago was found dead today but his passenger was rescued, the Bernama news agency reported.

The pilot of the Piper 28 aircraft, Nasir Ma Lee, 60, was an experienced ex-airforce flyer and officials had hoped his training would help him survive in the rough terrain as they combed the jungle after finding tracks leading from the wreckage.

His passenger, student pilot Mohd Nazarullah Mohd Sultan, 28, was found alive with a broken arm and leg about 1.5 kilometres from the downed plane yesterday.

The student told investigators that he and Nasir Ma had stayed beside the wreckage for a day before the pilot decided to seek help and headed off thgrough the forest.

Wreckage of the aircraft was found after radio contact was lost shortly after the plane took off from the capital Kuala Lumpur on Friday and headed for Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

Six teams of police and local tribesmen had been mobilised to search for the pair. - AFP