2010-01-28 11:32:50 - Vehicle Accident - Philippines EDIS CODE: VI-20100128-24723-PHL
Date & Time: 2010-01-28 11:32:50 [UTC]
Area: Philippines, Province of North Cotabato, Rosary Heights 9 district, Cotabato Number of death person(s): 8
Damage level: Moderate (Level 2)
Not confirmed information! Description: Eight Air Force personnel, including a two-star general and a young female pilot, were killed after their Nomad plane crashed in a residential area in Cotabato City shortly after take-off before noon Thursday, police officials said. At least three houses were burned at the crash site after the plane burst into flames upon hitting the ground. A housewife and a responding firefighter were also reported injured. The fatalities were identified as Maj. Gen. Mario “Butch” Lacson, commanding general of the PAF’s 3rd Wing Division based in Zamboanga City; a certain Major Tacuboy; a certain Captain Ordoneo; a certain First Lieutenant Valdez, the female pilot; a certain First Lieutenant Lepae; a certain Sergeant Lamera; a certain Sergeant Mejia; and a certain Sergeant Gosum. Senior Supt. Willie Dangane, Cotabato City police chief, said the PAF’s gray Nomad aircraft, a twinengine turboprop, crashed inside the Virgo Subdivision in Cotabato City’s Rosary Heights 9 district at 11:35 a.m. Thursday. “The plane hit the house of a certain Gapor Camlian when it crashed,” said Dangane in a phone interview. “Negative,” replied Chief Supt. Josefino Cataluña, director of the Central Mindanao Regional Police, in a text message when asked if there were any survivors. Dangane also confirmed that all eight people on board were killed, their bodies charred, as the plane burst into flames upon hitting the ground.
Cataluña said the plane came from Davao City, where the occupants attended a military conference, and landed at the Cotabato airport in Awang town, Maguindanao to drop off Col. Cris Tumanda, an Air Force Tactical Operations Group commander. The plane then took off to bring the remaining PAF personnel to Zamboanga City. “The plane crashed after the takeoff,” said Cataluña. PAF spokesperson Lt. Col. Gerry Zamudio said that at 11:37 a.m., air traffic controllers at the Cotabato airport reportedly received a radio message from the pilot of the Nomad informing them that they were returning to the airport. "However, that was the last message heard from the pilot," Zamudio said. Police said the crash triggered a fire that gobbled up at least three houses in the subdivision. A villager identified as Shiela Gomiton and a firefighter who tried to rescue her were wounded, but Gomiton’s two children, Jason and Jen-Jen, were unhurt. Gomiton, reports said, was preparing lunch when the plane plunged into their neighborhood. Two more houses, one of them owned by a certain Rogelio Daet, and a private vehicle were also damaged. “Our police personnel in the area immediately proceeded to the crash site to cordon off and secure the crash site,” said Dangane. Both Dangane and Cataluña said Air Force authorities would be the ones to conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the crash. The 12-seater N22B Nomad is used primarily as a transport plane to ferry military personnel. With the latest incident, the PAF is now left with only one Nomad, and Air Force Chief Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena immediately ordered its grounding while a crash investigation is ongoing.
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