Plane crashes in Pangasinan; no one hurt

DAGUPAN CITY-–A four-seater plane crashed Wednesday morning in a rice field in Laoac town in Pangasinan province but none of its passengers, including two pilots, was hurt, police and local disaster response officials said.

Gaylord Abao, head of the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office in Laoac, said the plane, which is owned by the WCC Aviation Co. based in neighboring Binalonan town, was maneuvering for its last pass before landing in the Binalonan airfield, when it lost power, glided and crashed in a rice field in Barangay Domingo Alarcio at 8:30 a.m.

Abao, who went to the crash site, said the plane was intact and its pilot and co-pilot were not hurt.

Supt. Marlou Chan, Pangasinan police director, identified the plane’s passengers as one Captain Amardeep, 27, the pilot; his co-pilot, Haresh Ager, 20; and aircraft mechanics Deovannie Arzadon and Jemar Pantaleon.

Abao said they have no information on the pilots’ nationalities.

“The pilots were even smiling when I saw them and talked to them. They had to remove their suits because these were full of mud,” Abao said.

He said the plane slid in the rice field, destroying the crops there.