Monday, March 5, 2012

News Update Norwegian among 2 killed in Philippine plane crash

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A small plane lashed by strong wind as it tried to land on a Philippine tourist island crashed into a coconut tree on Sunday, killing a Norwegian woman and a Filipino pilot, police said.

Two other Norwegian tourists - the husband and son of the woman who was killed - and an Indonesian co-pilot were seriously injured when the Cessna plane crashed near a house and a road just outside the airport in Mambajao town, police officer Franquilino Linda said.

The chartered plane had taken off from central Cebu province and was trying to land on the nearby island province of Camiguin when it was apparently buffeted by strong wind, went out of control and missed the runway, according to police officer Linda, who saw the troubled plane shortly before the crash.

'I think the pilot apparently tried to abort landing after missing much of the runway and tried to rapidly regain altitude but clipped the top of a coconut tree then slammed into another,' police officer Linda told The Associated Press by telephone.