Philippine soldiers mourn death of general, 7 others in plane crash

Soldiers and volunteers at the scene of the crash site in Cotabato City in Mindanao where a Philippine Air Force Nomad plane went down on Thursday, January 28, 2010. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 28, 2010) – The Philippine military mourned Thursday the death of a senior commander and seven more whose Nomad aircraft crashed on a village in Cotabato City in Mindanao.

“We are sad by what happened; seven of our own died in the crash. This is terrible day for us all in the military service,” said one soldier who helped pulled out the charred remains from the smoldering wreckage of the ageing aircraft.

Soldiers and paramedics rushed to the crash site after the crash in an effort to find survivors, but there was none.

Major Randolph Cabangbang, a regional military spokesman, said among the dead was Major General Mario Butch Lacson, commander of the 3rd Air Division in Zamboanga City.

Cabangbang said the plane crashed on a village in Cotabato City two minutes after it took off at around 11:35 a.m. at a military base in Maguindanao province. “It is a sad day for us. All eight passengers and crew perished in the crash,” he told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

Lacson’s group came from a conference in Davao City and was returning to Zamboanga City, but their plane had a brief stopped at an air force base in Maguindanao’s Awang town.

Other reports said soldiers pulled out the charred remains of the passengers, including two pilots and a crewman. It was unknown whether there casualties on the ground, but the plane crashed in two houses which caught fire.

Cabangbang said there is an ongoing investigation into the crash. “We still don’t know what happened, but the plane is quite old. There is an ongoing investigation,” he said.

The Philippine Air Force has one of the oldest fleet of air crafts in the world, including about a dozen Nomad plane. (Mark Navales contributed to this report)

Philippine Military Cargo Plane Crashes At Sea

An undated photo of one of two aging Philippine Air Force cargo aircraft prepares to land in the southern island of Sulu. The Philippine Air Force on says one one of its C130 cargo plane crashed at sea near the Davao Gulf off Mindanao after it took off from the Davao International Airport before midnight Monday. On Tuesday, coastal villagers recovered debris from the plane, including a pair of military boots, an aircraft manual and some body parts. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 26, 2008) - A Philippine Air Force C130 transport plane crashed at sea shortly after take off in Davao City in Mindanao.

Aircraft debris had been recovered on Tuesday near the Davao Gulf where the military launched a massive search for the ageing aircraft. Among the recovered debris was a pair of combat boots, aircraft manuals and pieces of metals believed from the skin of the C130 plane. It was not immediately known if there was any survivor.

The aircraft, built in 1971, had lost contact after taking off from Davao International Airport shortly before midnight Monday.

Philippine Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog said: “We are still verifying really as to what transpired because this is something very unusual. The aircraft and the pilots were all okay before take off and everything was normal until that time.”

The aircraft, piloted by Captain Adrian de Dios and Major Manuel Sambrano, was carrying seven crewmen and on their way to Iloilo province in central Philippines to pick up members of the Presidential Security Group after Monday's visit by President Gloria Arroyo.

Television reports identified the crew as Sergeants Constantino Lobregat, John Arriola, Gerry Delioso, Felix Pedro Patriarga, Petronilo Fernandez, Patricio Claur Jr, and Sergeant Aldrin Ilustrisimo.

“We still do not what really happened really, but the last contact we had on the C130 was at the Butuan air base,” Lt. Col. Roland Bautista, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division in Davao City, told the Mindanao Examiner.

The cause of the crash was unknown. “It could be mechanical trouble, we still don’t know,” Bautista said.

The Philippine Air Force has only two ageing C130 aircrafts in their fleet of mostly old OV-10 fighter planes and UH-1H helicopters. (With reports from Romy Bwaga)

Spray Plane Crashes In South RP, Pilot Killed

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 19, 2007) – A small aircraft crashed and exploded Monday on a remote village in southern Philippines, killing its pilot, officials said.

Emmanuel Antonio, of the Air Transportation Office, said the aircraft crashed while spraying pesticide in the village of Magatos in Davao del Norte’s Asuncion town at around 8 a.m.

“The plane exploded on impact and we have received reports that its pilot, Captain Rico Cajucom, was killed in the crash,” Antonio told the MiThe Manila Times.

He said the spray plane crashed near a farm. “We still don’t know why the aircraft crashed,” he said.

It was not immediately known what company the pilot was working with, but Davao del Norte is the leading producer of bananas and many plantations run by multinationals Dole and Del Monte and local producers such as Lapanday, Marsman and TADECO. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sa Pagbagsak Ng Chopper, Sarangola Daw Ang May Sala?

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 02 May) – Sinisisi ngayon ng Philippine Air Force ang isang sarangola sa umano’y dahilan kung bakit bumagsak ang UH-1H helicopter nito sa Lapu-Lapu sa lalawigan ng Cebu.

Siyam na katao ang patay sa naturang trahedya na naganap nuong nakaraang linggo habang nasa isang training flight ang mga piloto nito.

Ngunit “pilot error” naman ang nakikita ng maraming mamamayan sa Cebu na siyang dahilan sa pagbagsak ng chopper.

Ayaw lamang umanong aminin ng PAF na pilot error ang dahilan ng pagbagsak ng chopper.

Dapat kasi ay mailayo ng mga piloto ang kanilang chopper sa mataong lugar kung sakaling ito ay babagsak. Dapat naman umanong bayaran ng PAF ang danyos-perwisyo nito sa mga pamilay ng nasawing sibilyan.

Karamihan sa nasawi ay mga pasahero ng dalawang tricycle na naipit sa chopper.

Sa ipinalabas na inisyal na resulta ng imbestigasyon, sinabi ni PAF Chief Lieutenant General Horacio Tolentino, lumilitaw na walang naging problema sa makina at kahit sa embargo ng gasolina ng chopper.

Bago ang insidente, normal aniya ang lipad ng chopper ngunit nawalan ng kontrol at napabagsak ng pumulupot na tali o nylon ng saranggola.

"Tumatakbo naman ng mahusay ang chopper, walang problema sa makina at gasolina. But the rotor system lost power due to the nylon cord," ani Tolentino sa pulong balitaan.

Aminado ang liderato ng PAF na wala itong mapapanagot o makakasuhan sa nangyari na maituturing lamang na aksidente. Ibinasura rin ng heneral ang posibilidad na nagkaroon ng pananabotahe.

Gayunman, binigyang-diin ni Tolentino ang mahigpit na babala sa pagpapalipad ng saranggola sa bisinidad ng paliparan o sasakop sa 2.5 milya ang layo mula sa gitna ng airport.

Umaapela si Tolentino sa pagkakaroon ng isang batas na mahigpit na magpapatupad ng no-kite flying zone.

Sa ngayon aniya, regulasyon lamang ng Air Transportation Office ang umiiral hinggil sa pagbabawal sa pagpapalipad ng saranggolangunit hindi istriktong namomonitor at naipatutupad bukod pa sa walang nakatakdang parusa sa mga paglabag.

Ipinunto ni Tolentino na kung may kaukulang batas na ay mas may awtoridad at mapapakilos ang pulisya para manghuli at magpakulong ng lalabag sa no-kite flying zone. (Juley Reyes)