Piper crashed in Baguio

Two Killed, four others injured

April 11, 2011

Two people were killed while four others were hurt Sunday after the six-seater Piper Aztec (RPC 5140) plane they were on crash landed on pine trees inside Camp John Hay complex in Baguio City at around 2:53 p.m.

Police Senior Inspector Ruben Porte, Baguio City Police Station 4 commander, identified the fatality initial fatality as Jose George and Grace Alvarez who expired at the Baguio General Hospital at around 6:30 p.m.

The other victims were identified as pilot Col. Reynaldo Garcia, Jose Miranda, Ness Guerrero and Basil Matthew.

According to Porte, the plane, which took off from Loakan Airport en route to Plaridel town in Bulacan, crashed near the horse-back riding station of the popular mountain resort.

Renee Gabuyog, a horseback-riding guide, said he saw the plane flying unusually low over the pine trees and then heard a loud thud followed by an explosion.

The aircraft was "totally burned," and firefighters from the area have already put out the fire caused by the plane crash, Porte added.

Porte said officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) are already on the site to investigate the cause of the crash.

In 2005, a Cessna training plane also crashed minutes after taking off from Loakan Airport, killing four of its passengers.