Eight killed after medical evacuation plane crashes in Manila’s Airport

(CNA) – A medical evacuation plane exploded during take-off in the Philippine capital on Sunday (Mar 29), killing all eight passengers and crew, including an American and a Canadian, officials said.

The Lionair plane, owned by a Philippines-registered charter service Lionair, had been bound for Haneda, Japan, but burst into flames at the end of the runway around 8.00pm, Manila’s main airport, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), said.

Indonesian carrier Lion Air issued a statement making clear that it is unrelated to Manila-based Lionair.

Video footage showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the night sky as fire crews doused the fuselage with foam.

The twin-jet West Wind 24 plane was carrying three medical personnel, three flight crew, a patient and a companion, Richard Gordon, a senator and head of the Philippine Red Cross, said on Twitter.

“Unfortunately, no passenger survived the accident,” the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said in a statement.

An investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Authority of the Philippines was under way, MIAA said.

“Our fire and medic teams were already dispatched to NAIA Terminal 2 to respond to the plane crash incident involving Lion Air Flight RPC 5880,” Gordon said.

“The plane caught fire and exploded as it was taking off the NAIA runway,” he added.

Monreal confirmed that an American national and a Canadian citizen were among those killed, but could not provide further detail. The six others were all Filipinos, he said.