Ian Paolo Villacencio

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has initiated a formal investigation and temporarily grounded the Pilipinas Space Aviation Academy Inc. following an aircraft crash that ended the lives of a flight instructor and a student pilot in Lingayen, Pangasinan, on Sunday, March 30.

Photo Courtesy of Rappler.

The incident occurred around 8:01 a.m. when the Cessna training aircraft, registered as RP-C8595, crashed shortly after takeoff during a routine training session. 

In an interview by Radyo 630 to Plt. Col. Amor Mio Somine, officer-in-charge of PNP-Lingayen, Pangasinan, the 32-year-old flight instructor, a resident of Baguio City, and the 25-year-old student from Bulacan, were rushed to the Lingayen District Hospital but eventually declared dead on arrival.

Somine shared that the CAAP personnel confirmed the group’s tenth and final rotation had just landed, but the Cessna took off again and crashed within a minute in a swampy area.

"Pang sampung batch daw na nila, bale ‘yun sana ‘yung final na rotation nila. Kaya lang pagka touchdown sa airport, lumipad ulit, wala pang isang minuto bumagsak na po ‘yung Cessna plane," he stated.

The aircraft was operated by the aforementioned aviation academy with its main base at Lingayen Airport and main campus in Parañaque City, Metro Manila. 

"Ang initial info na nakuha namin, dalawang beses na nagsabi ng ‘Mayday, Mayday’. ‘Yun lang po yung word na huling narinig doon sa pilot ng Cessna plane,” the OIC added.

Flying school's operations are temporarily suspended pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation to determine the cause of the accident. 

Authorities are currently looking into whether the crash was caused by weather, human error, or technical breakdown.

This incident underscores the importance of stringent safety protocols and thorough investigations to prevent future tragedies in aviation training.