Light plane crashes on banana plantation; no one hurt

TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte, Philippines—A light plane used for spraying pesticides over banana plantations crashed in Mabini, Compostela Valley on Black Saturday, police said on Monday.

Senior Superintendent Camilo Cascolan, Compostela Valley police chief, said the pilot was unhurt but the aircraft sustained damage and destroyed some 39 full-grown banana plants following the mishap at Tagnanan village around 7:50 a.m.

The Cessna plane (RP-R 146) of the Philippine Aviation Agricultural Corp. (PAAC) piloted by 28-year-old Amil Jerome Perlas was about to land on an airstrip after conducting spraying runs at Tagnanan CARP Beneficiaries Corporation (TCBC) plantation when its engine apparently malfunctioned, Cascolan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by text message.

“The aircraft experienced mechanical defects prompting the pilot to crash land it at the plantation. The pilot was unhurt,” said Cascolan, adding four steel posts were also damaged after being rammed by the plane.

It was the third time a plane accident occurred in Southern Mindanao this year, where more than 50,000 hectares of banana plantations rely on aging light aircraft for applying pesticides over farms.

Last March, two crop dusters also nose-dived over plantations in Tagum City and Kapalong town, causing light injuries to the pilots.