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MANILA, Philippines 鈥� A flight instructor and his student pilot died after the Cessna training aircraft they were using crashed in Lingayen, Pangasinan on Sunday, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Lingayen.
The aircraft, registered as RP-C8595, was operated by Pilipinas Space Aviation Academy Inc.
The incident occured around 8:01 a.m. and was reported to authorities at 8:40 a.m., Plt. Col. Amor Mio Somine, officer-in-charge of PNP-Lingayen, Pangasinan, said in a radio interview.
The pilot (32 years old) and student pilot (25 years old)鈥攂oth male鈥攚ere declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
鈥淜aka-touch down lang nila according to the duty personnel ng Caap [Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines] doon sa airport. Pang sampung batch daw na nila, bale 鈥榶un sana 鈥榶ung final na rotation nila. Kaya lang pagkatouch down sa airport, lumipad ulit, wala pang isang minuto bumagsak na po 鈥榶ung Cessna plane,鈥� Somine said at a Radyo 630 interview.
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(They had just touched down, according to the duty personnel of CAAP at the airport. It was reportedly that they were already on their 10th batch, and it was supposed to be the pilot鈥檚 final rotation. However, right after touching down at the airport, the Cessna plane took off again and five minutes later it crashed.)
鈥淎ng initial info na nakuha nmin, dalawang beses na nasabi ng 鈥楳ayday, Mayday鈥�. 鈥榊un lang po yung word na huling narinig doon sa pilot ng Cessna plane,鈥� he added.
(The initial information we gathered indicates that 鈥淢ayday, Mayday鈥� was said twice. That was the last word heard from the pilot of the Cessna plane.)
Caap, in a statement, confirmed the incident, adding that authorities have already launched a formal investigation to determine the cause of the incident.
鈥淢eanwhile, the flying school is grounded pending the result of the ongoing investigation,鈥� it said.
鈥淔urther updates will be provided as more details become available,鈥� Caap added.
Barangay (village) Libsong East chairman Edgardo Diaz said in a phone interview that the crash occurred in a vacant lot in their village just outside the fence of the Lingayen Airport, which is used by numerous flying schools, at around 8 a.m.
Diaz said they found two passengers inside the plane. One of the passengers was taken to the hospital by police and the other was taken to the Lingayen Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
The passengers鈥� names were not immediately known, as authorities are still investigating the incident. With additional report from Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Luzon