2 dead in John Hay plane crash

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines  – A small plane with six people on board crashed at a popular tourist destination here yesterday, killing two passengers. Four others were injured.

Officials of the Air Transportation Office (ATO) here said the six-seater RPC 5140 Piper Aztec plane crashed in a horse-riding trail of Camp John Hay, shortly after taking off from Loakan Airport.

One person on board was killed while five others were taken to the Baguio General Hospital.

The lone fatality was identified as Jose George while those injured were the pilot, retired colonel Reynaldo Garcia and passengers Joe Miranda, Ness Guerrero, Basil Matthew and Grace Alvarez.

There were no reports of people injured or killed on the ground when the plane crashed.

Initial reports said the plane, with tail number PA34-200 owned by Techno Air, was bound for Bulacan when it lost control shortly after takeoff and crashed on a clump of pine trees near the recreational area of Camp John Hay.

There were many witnesses who saw the plane losing altitude before it crashed.

Renee Gabuyog, a pony renter, said he immediately went to the crash site along with other colleagues and retrieved two women out of the wreck.

Gabuyog said the aircraft was a total wreck as it burned the pine trees in the area.

The ATO has yet to release an official statement on the cause of the accident that put a damper on vacation plans of tourists frequenting the country’s summer capital famous for its cool weather, pine trees and scenic mountain scenes.