3 killed in another PAF trainer plane crash

Two Air Force pilots and a civilian worker on the ground were killed when an Italian-made SF-260 trainer plane crashed into the roof of a computer parts factory in Sto. Tomas, Batangas yesterday morning.

Initial reports said 10 other workers were rushed to the nearby St. Francis Cabrini Hospital for treatment of burns and injuries. One of them was in serious condition.

Air Force spokesman Col. Jose Angel Honrado said the plane developed engine trouble before plunging into the roof of Ebiden Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of a Japanese-owned computer parts manufacturing company located inside the compound of the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) in Barangay Sta. Ignacia in Sto. Tomas.

Honrado identified the fatalities as 1Lt. Ramos Vincent Ong, the pilot, his co-pilot 1Lt. Delfin Francisco and Reynante Bautista, an Ebiden employee.

Another worker, Nestor Pribado, reportedly suffered second-degree burns in his body.

Honrado said the two pilots were conducting a "proficiency flight" when the engine of the plane, manufactured by Marchetti of Italy, conked out.

He said the plane went into a tailspin from which the pilots were unable to recover.

"The engine malfunctioned, causing the plane to pirouette and crash," he said. "We have sent people to the area for relief and recovery work."

Fernando Air Base commander Brig. Gen. Arcadio Seron said the Italian-made training plane took off from Sangley Point in Cavite for a routine aerial exercise when it developed engine trouble just above Sto. Tomas town, around 65 kilometers south of Metro Manila.

Witnesses claimed seeing smoke emitting from the light plane which was hovering above the factory before it crashed.

"The aircraft directly hit the quality control room of the Ibiden Corp. and upon impact, fire broke out," Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, Batangas police provincial director, said.

Magtibay added almost all firefighting units from Batangas and Laguna were dispatched to contain the blaze caused by the crash.

PFIP president Hector Dimacala described the plane as a "total wreck" after it exploded upon impact inside the factory, which instantly killed the two pilots and Bautista.

The light plane ripped a large hole on the roof of the computer factory before it crashed and exploded inside.

"It’s still fortunate that it (the plane) hit the machine room with less operators working at that time," Dimacala told reporters.

He said they are still assessing the property damage caused by the crash.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Air Transportation Office (ATO) chief Adelberto Yap said the pilots did not report any trouble.

He said the pilots may have been doing acrobatic stunts in the area that was not within their flying zone. "The aircraft was OK," he said.

According to Yap, the Air Force operates 18 SF-260 turbo-propped aircraft, while six had previously crashed. The aircraft are also used as attack planes, he said.

There were also reports that the Japanese owners of Ebiden are threatening to close down their plants following the plane crash. They underscored the need to ban all unauthorized flights in the area.

The Japanese are asking why a training flight was conducted close to the ground in an industrial area, when the plane was supposed to be flying in a designated airspace over Batangas and Cavite.

The Philippine Air Force 100th Training Wing used to be located at Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, but was relocated last year to the Buayan Airport in General Santos City.

Some of the SF-260 planes are now stationed in Sangley Point where the 15th Strike Wing is based.

The crash came just a month after a Fokker-27 twin-engine commuter plane crashed into Manila Bay, killing 19 people. Fifteen people survived. – With Ed Amoroso, Jaime Laude