Light plane crashes near Mall of Asia

MANILA, Philippines – A four-seater Cessna trainer aircraft crash-landed yesterday at a reclaimed area near the SM Mall of Asia in Baclaran, leaving the pilot and his co-pilot shaken but unhurt.

The plane landed on a vast grassy portion of the reclamation area between Diosdado Macapagal Avenue and Roxas Boulevard known as Aseana Business Park.

Capt. Reynaldo dela Cruz, 46, and Reynan Fuentabella, 29, said that they took off from runway 13 of the Manila Domestic Airport at about 3:20 p.m. on the way to Plaridel, Bulacan, for a training flight.

Dela Cruz said they were about 20 minutes into the flight somewhere over Malabon at 1,500 feet when the engine vibrated, prompting him to maneuver the aircraft back to the airport.

But before they could make it to the runway, the engine sputtered, forcing him to crash-land at the reclaimed area.

“I was able to land the plane normally, but unfortunately, the wheel struck a big hole on the ground causing the plane to overturn.”

Plaridel is a feeder airport operated by the Air Transportation Office, where student pilots learn how to execute “touch-and-go” landing and other maneuvers. The time of the crash was recorded at 4 p.m. The plane, registered as RP-C229, was a total wreck. 

Manila International Airport Authority’s Media Affairs Division said Sherwin Tachado of Aviation Dynamic owns the ill-fated plane.

Capt. Alger Ramo, chief of the Centennial 2 ramp control, said they received no distress signal from the pilot.

“We saw the Cessna go down at the approach to runway 13 near Baclaran and we alerted the airport crash and rescue unit,” he said.

Members of the airport fire brigade were on the scene within minutes and sprayed the aircraft with foaming agent to prevent it from bursting into flames.  – Rudy Santos