5 killed in S-211 crash in Nueva Ecija

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — A Philippine Air Force (PAF) S-211 trainer jet crashed into a row of houses in Cabanatuan City yesterday, killing the two pilots and three people on the ground and injuring a still undetermined number of civilians.

The trainer jet plowed into a row of 15 houses in Barangay M. S. Garcia, setting fire to both the plane and the houses, Nueva Ecija Gov. Tomas Joson said in an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Joson said the authorities recovered the bodies of the pilot, Lt. Romeo de Guzman, and his trainer, Capt. Louie Ramos, from the crash site, as well as the corpses of three civilians who were inside the houses.

"This area is heavily populated," Joson said. "We cannot discount the possibility that we would find many more corpses after we put out the fire."

Five other victims were taken to the provincial hospital in Cabanatuan and treated for burns or cuts. Local physician Roger Aguilar said in a radio interview that none of the injuries were life-threatening.

Air Force spokesman Col. Horacio Lapinid said the jet took off from the PAF’s 5th Fighter Wing based here at about 1:18 p.m.

Fifth Fighter Wing spokesman Maj. Allan Ballesteros said the ill-fated pilot and his trainer were on a proficiency training flight and were not involved in joint military exercises with US troops.

Around 2 p.m., an un-identified helicopter pilot, who was flying from Baguio to Manila, reported to air controllers that he witnessed the trainer jet crash in Cabanatuan.

PAF chief Lt. Gen. Benjamin Defensor said the cause of the crash has not been determined, but he has dispatched a team to investigate the crash and extend assistance to the victims’ families.

According to Defensor, the two airmen told air controllers they would not eject from their aircraft so that they could crash the jet in an unpopulated area.

Defensor has also grounded all its remaining S-211s until the cause of the plane crash has been determined

The crash further reduced to five the original 18 Italian-made Air Augusta jets which were criticized by legislators as "widow-makers" when the PAF proposed to buy them. - With Paolo Romero