Air Force general, 8 others killed in Cotabato plane crash

(Update 3 - 10:44 p.m.) Nine people were killed and one was injured after a Philippine Air Force plane crashed in a residential area in Cotabato City before noon Thursday. Eight of the fatalities, one of them an air force general, were passengers of a Nomad plane that burst into flames after plowing across three houses at Virgo Subdivision, Purok 7, Rosary Heights 9, Cotabato City, officials told GMANews.TV. The other fatality – Inday Mondrano, who was in her sixties – died after a wall of one of the houses collapsed on her, Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 12 Senior Superintendent Felicisimo Khu told GMANews.TV. Mondrano, whose remains were retrieved at 2:40 in the afternoon, was visiting Sheila Gumicon in the latter’s residence, Khu said. Gumacon, who is in her forties, was rushed to the Cotabato City hospital after she was slightly injured, the PNP official added. Residents of the other two damaged houses –owned by Gapor Camlian and Rogelio Daet – were unharmed. The plane crash took place at 11:37 in the morning, Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Gerry Zamudio said in a separate interview. He refused to identify the passengers until their families have been notified. Cotabato city police chief Sr. Supt. Willie Dangane said Maj. Gen. Mario Butch Lacson, commander of the Air Force's 3rd Air Division, was among the passengers of the plane. He identified the other passengers as a certain Maj. Tacuboy; Capt. Ordoneo; 1st Lt. Valdez, the female pilot; 2Lt. Alexander Lipae; Sgt. Llamera; Sgt. Mejia; and Sgt. Gosum.
Eastern Mindanao command chief Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer said the aircraft came from Davao City and had made a stopover in Cotabato City before proceeding to Zamboanga City. Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines deputy director Ed Kapunan said the pilot informed authorities of engine trouble shortly after taking off. "Pag take off, about eight kilometers away nag-declare siya ng emergency at nalaglag siya (About eight kilometers away after it took off, the pilot declared an emergency and started to descend)," Kapunan said in an interview over radio dzBB. Kapunan said the pilot requested to go back to Cotabato City. But when aviation authorities gave her the landing clearance, the pilot replied that communication was fading and subsequently lost contact. Edgar Tampos, a Cotabato City resident, said he saw the plane go down a couple of houses away from his place. "Akala ko nga diyan babagsak sa bahay namin, tapos biglang nag-tilt ng kaunti yung eroplano saka biglang tumagilid siya at sumabit yung pakpak ng eroplano doon sa isang bahay, mga dalawang bahay siguro from bahay namin, tapos biglang bumulusok na siya (I thought it would crash on our house, but then it tilted a little, and its wing hit a house that was about two houses away from ours. Then it started to plunge into the ground)," Tampos said in an interview over QTV's Balitanghali. "Pagbulusok niya, sumunod, sumabog na (After that, it exploded)," he said.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, production of Nomads was halted in 1984. There are 28 recorded hull loss accidents of Nomads as of December 2007, with 87 fatalities. Last September, an Indonesian Navy Nomad crashed in East Kalimantan, killing four people and injuring five others, the Jakarta Globe said. - Johanna Camille Sisante/RSJ/RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV