Philippine plane carrying patients to Japan caught fire on the runway, 8 people died
Horrific accident occurred about 20h on 29-3 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila (Philippines).
A small Lion Air aircraft scheduled to take off from the Philippines to Japan ended in tragedy when it caught fire during takeoff. The plane exploded, then burned down at the end of the runway, killing all 8 people on it.
Philippine media said it was a special disease transfer flight. The identity of people traveling on the plane has not been identified yet.
However, according to the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, Senator Richard Gordon, when the tragedy on the plane was carrying 1 patient and his companion, 3 crew members and 3 medical doctors. .
The fire was only extinguished about an hour after the tragedy, according to the Philippines Inquirer .
The aircraft in distress was a small, twin-engine Westwind 2 passenger aircraft manufactured by Israel. This aircraft was very popular with merchants and was first introduced in 1965, with more than 400 units sold. It is still unclear the status and time of operation of the aircraft in distress. Philippine authorities are investigating the cause of the accident
