19-YEAR-OLD PILOT, FEMALE TEEN PASSENGER DIE IN LIGHT PLANE CRASH IN TARLAC

BY KEVIN GALANG

CONCEPCION, Tarlac — Two teenagers on Saturday died when a two-seater ultralight aircraft crashed at a rice field in Bgy. Panalicsican, this municipality.

A report to Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) director Brig. Gen. Ponce Rogelio Peñones Jr. identified the fatalities as John Paul Olson, 19, of Bgy. Duquit, Mabalacat City; and his 18-year-old female passenger, a resident of Macabebe, Pampanga.

The crash was discovered around 11 a.m. Saturday.

According to witnesses, they saw the small aircraft flying low over the area before it suddenly lost altitude and crashed into a rice field.

Responding personnel from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) immediately brought the victims to the Concepcion District Hospital,  where the two were declared dead on arrival.

Probers are coordinating with aviation authorities to determine the cause of the crash, including whether the aircraft suffered from engine failure or loss of control.

Authorities secured the crash site while awaiting the arrival of representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for a full investigation.