Norwegian, Filipino dead in Camiguin plane crash

CAMIGUIN PLANE CRASH In this photo released by the Camiguin police, three men look at the remains of a Cessna plane that crashed in Camiguin province, central Philippines, Sunday, March 4, 2012. Police said a Norwegian woman and a Filipino pilot were killed when the small plane crashed after being lashed by strong winds while landing at an airport. AP Photo/Philippine National Police, Camiguin

MANILA, Philippines—A Norwegian tourist and her Filipino pilot were killed and three other foreigners injured in a plane crash on Camiguin Island in the central Philippines on Sunday, police said.

A Norwegian family of three were flying to the resort island of Camiguin by private plane when the aircraft crashed around 7:45 a.m., said regional police duty officer Eduardo Mandalunin.

“The plane was about to land when the pilot lost control and the plane hit some coconut trees and fell to the ground,” he told AFP.

Norwegian Racquel Strande, 37, and the plane’s Filipino pilot Cesar Cebracus were killed, he said, while Strande’s 56-year-old husband, Lance, and three-year-old son, Jensol, were injured, as was Indonesian student pilot Nurmala Dewi, who was acting as co-pilot.

The cause of the crash was under investigation, the policeman said.

Senior Superintendent Villamor Macoy, Camiguin’s provincial police commander, said the plane, with tail number RPC-209, departed from Mactan-Cebu International airport for Camiguin Airport in Mambajao town.—With Bobby Lagsa and Jeoffrey Maitem of Inquirer Mindanao; and Erwin Aguillon of Radyo Inquirer

Originally posted at 1:39 pm | Sunday, March 4, 2012