January 28, 2010 | 3:15pm
(UPDATE) MANILA, Philippines (AP) – A decades-old military plane crashed Thursday into a residential area in the southern Philippines, killing a senior air force commander and seven other people aboard, officials said. One person died on the ground while two others were injured.
Authorities said among those killed were Maj. Gen. Butch Lacson, commanding general of the Philippine Air Force's (PAF) 3rd Wing Division. Lacson and seven other PAF members were on board a gray Nomad plane when it plummeted.
A civilian, Inday Mondrano, died after a wall reportedly fell on her when the military aircraft crashed around 11:30 a.m. at Virgo Subdivision, Rosary Heights 9, Cotabato City.
Meanwhile, Gela Gumiton, a resident in the area, was brought to the Cotabato Regional Medical Center for head and body injuries she sustained during the incident.
Cotabato Mayor Muslimin Sema said one fireman also was injured.
The twin-prop Nomad aircraft crashed shortly after taking off and burst into flames, setting fire to two houses that it had hit, regional military commander Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer said. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
Television footage showed one charred body among the flaming debris as people tried to help firemen put out the blaze, some dousing the fire with garden hoses.
The plane had stopped in Cotabato on its way from Davao city to Zamboanga city, Ferrer said.
The pilot radioed soon after takeoff to say the plane had an emergency and was heading back when it crashed, Civil Aviation Authority deputy director Ed Kapunan said a radio interview.
The plane was acquired by the government from Australia in 1976. Three others still in service will be grounded pending results of an investigation, said air force spokesman Lt. Col. Gerardo Zamudio. – With AP
