A small aircraft slammed into a residential area in the Metro Manila region in the Philippines on Saturday, killing all five on board the aircraft as well as five people inside a house who had gathered for a family lunch.
The six-seat Piper PA-23 Apache aircraft crashed in Plaridel, Bulacan province, shortly after takeoff at around 11:20am, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said. The plane was flying from Plaridel Airport to the city of Laoag.
Isang eroplano ang bumagsak sa kabahayan sa Brgy. Lumangbayan Plaridel, Bulacan bandang 11:21 a.m. Sa mga larawan ni @YouScooper Jane Pearl, makikta ang maitim na usok sa lugar kung saan bumagsak ang eroplano. Nagsasagawa pa ng imbestigasyon kaugnay ng naturang aksidente. pic.twitter.com/6Lu7TVjJyb
— YouScoop (@YouScoop) March 17, 2018
Plaridel police chief Agustin Joseph said in a radio interview that the plane hit a house at the time a family was having its lunch there. Three children, their mother, and grandmother were killed according to police superintendent Julio Lizardo.
TINGNAN: Lugar kung saan bumagsak ang eroplano sa Brgy. Lumang Bayan, Plaridel; patuloy na inaalis ang labi ng pitong napatay sa insidente kabilang na ang anim na sakay ng eroplano pic.twitter.com/CXOlzNNONK
— Ron Lopez (@RonLopezPH) March 17, 2018
According to a witness cited by local media, one of the plane’s wings hit a 40ft-tall pole, before plummeting into the house moments later. Two bystanders, an elderly woman and her grandson, were reportedly injured outside.
rt dzrhnews: edwinduqueRH23 3 katao, sinasabing na-trap sa bahay na nabagsakan ng Apache plane sa Plaridel, Bulacan. || edwinduqueRH23 pic.twitter.com/15nbTlMvXB
— Mickey Nayo (@mickeynayo11) March 17, 2018
All other aircraft owned by the plane’s operator, Lite Air Express, have been grounded pending an investigation.
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