2 die in Cessna plane crash

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Philippines — A pilot and his student died when the light Cessna plane they were using for training crashed near the airport here yesterday morning.

Authorities identified the fatalities as Capt. Nikko Manogan, 31, and student pilot Bryan Allen Ocang, 25.

Lt. Col. Amor Mio Somine, Lingayen police chief, said the two-seater Cessna training aircraft had just taken off from Lingayen airport and was making a U-turn when it plummeted into a swampy area on the eastern side of the runway in Barangay Libsong East.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said the Cessna training aircraft with registration number RP-C8595 was operated by Pilipinas Space Aviation Academy.

According to Somine, police immediately responded after a security guard reported the crash at 8:40 a.m.

Together with the Philippine National Police-Aviation Group personnel, they found Manogan and Ocang inside the aircraft.

Members of the local disaster risk reduction and management council also responded to the alarm and rushed the pilot and his student to the Lingayen District Hospital where they were declared dead on arrival.

Somine said their initial investigation showed that the plane crew asked airport control for permission to conduct flight training yesterday.

He said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines would be conducting further investigation into the incident to determine, among others, the cause of the plane crash.

Lingayen Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil also ordered Somine to invite all flying schools in Lingayen to meet with him yesterday afternoon to discuss the incident. — Artemio Dumlao, Rudy Santos, Mark Ernest Villeza