Student pilot in Isabela plane crash identified as Iranian, not Afghan

MANILA, Philippines –(UPDATE) The student pilot who was hurt in a training plane crash in Isabela province this morning, was identified as an Iranian national, not an Afghan as previously reported.

Iranian student pilot Ahmed Farid Hotak, 28, was with pilot, 56-year-old Captain Reynald Taquiqui, when their training plane crashed in Isabela at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, a police official told Inquirer.net.

Region 2 police director Chief Superintendent Francisco Villaroman said through a text message that the Cessna training plane (body number RP C1336), piloted by Taquiqui ,crash-landed on Maconacon Airport at Malasin village, Maconacon town, Isabela.

Citing a report from the Maconacon police, Villaroman said that initial investigation showed that the front wheel of the aircraft was damaged when Taquiqui tried to land on the runway. The pilot lost control of the plane, and it toppled and landed upside down on the runway, said the police director.

Taquiqui and Hotak were rushed to a regional hospital unit in Maconacon town.

Police have yet to determine the extent of damage on the plane, said Villaroman. They are currently investigating the incident.