MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 plane bound for Pag-Asa Island caught fire while preparing to take off at Clark Air Base in Pampanga yesterday morning.
Maj. Aristedes Galang, PAF spokesman, said no one among the 200 passengers, mostly students at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), was injured.
“The plane was... ready for takeoff at around 7:10 a.m. when it caught fire,” Galang said.
The students were supposed to conduct a familiarization tour as part of their curriculum in Master in National Security Administration and maritime and territorial domain awareness program.
Galang said a probe to determine the cause of the fire is ongoing.
“There’s no grounding, but as a matter of safety procedures... we will suspend flying operations for... inspections,” Galang said.
The incident was the second involving PAF’s C-130 cargo planes in recent years.
The PAF’s five C-130 planes are under the 220th Airlift Wing. – Ding Cervantes