Pilot, student of Cessna plane that crashed in Davao Oriental safe

The remnants of the Cessna plane at the crash site in Sitio Otso, Purok Bitan-agan of Barangay Dahican in Mati City. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY THE MATI INFORMATION OFFICE

DAVAO CITY – Except for minor bruises, the pilot and student aboard the Cessna training aircraft that crashed in Mati City, Davao Oriental survived almost unscathed, much to the relief of rescuers.

Leoj Mara, emergency dispatcher of the command post of the Mati City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, told the Inquirer in a phone interview that they received the call about the crash at 7:50 a.m. on Monday, March 7, but when rescuers arrived at the crash site at Sitio 8, Barangay Dahican, the pilot and the student pilot were nowhere to be found.

“We later found out that they went to a hospital to get treated for abrasions on their heads,” said Mara.

He added that the two people aboard the two-seater plane—pilot Manuel Rafis Meyra and student Jeremiah Casamura Agonia—were already discharged by the hospital just after lunch.

Mara said that according to initial reports they gathered, the aircraft stalled after taking off and crashed just near the non-operational airport of the city.

The cause of the crash has not been determined yet, but the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines already sent a team to investigate the incident.

Rescuers found the remnants of the Cessna 150 plane with body number RPC9005 at the crash site in Sitio Otso, Purok Bitan-agan in Barangay Dahican. The plane said to be owned by Mactan Aviation was reported to be on its training flight from Davao city to Mati, Davao Oriental.

The crash site was just a few meters from the Mati Airport, an airport which former President Ferdinand Marcos built about 40 years ago and was named Imelda Marcos Airport.

Initial information, Mara added, was that after the plane took off, it immediately stalled and crashed onto the mango trees in the area. The two who were on board the plane immediately sought medical help even before the rescue team could reach the place.

Kyle Reyes, a personnel of Secdea Aviation that managed the crash area, said the incident had been reported to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for investigation.

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Cessna plane on training flight crashes in Davao Oriental; pilot, student missing

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