8 dead in NAIA airplane crash

An IAI Westwind-type aircraft burned upon take off at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila, Philippines Sunday night, March 29, leaving 8 passengers dead.

A source from the Manila International Airport Authority said the airplane is was carrying medical supplies and was bound for Haneda (Tokyo, Japan).

Multiple reports mention that the airplane was carrying 8 passengers: 3 aircraft crew members, one cabin medic, a nurse, a doctor, a patient, and the patient’s companion.

No one survived the crash. Six of the passengers are Filipinos while one is American and another is Canadian.

It burned upon crashing on runway 24, minutes after taking off from runway 6.

Shocks! Just in Airplane crash at NAIA Rwy 24 Lion Air aircraft registration RPC-5880 carrying Med supplies pic.twitter.com/Vkkv087Qx8

— s h é r (@sherwilliamm) March 29, 2020

The Civil Aviation and Aeronautics Board mentioned that the aircraft reportedly encountered a technical problem.

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A Japan-bound plane caught fire on takeoff at Manila airport in the Philippines late Sunday, killing all eight people on board, airport authorities said.

The Westwind aircraft was headed for Haneda airport on a medical evacuation mission carrying six Filipino crew members and two passengers, an American and a Canadian, authorities said without naming any of them.

Lion Air Westwind ambulance aircraft burned on take off in NAIA runway with eight people on board, according to sources.

This video was taken March 29, 2020 around 8 PM pic.twitter.com/QF0LDDwMgl | via @jacquemanabat

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) March 29, 2020

Firefighters rushed to the end of the runway where the aircraft was engulfed in flames, dousing it with chemical foam, an airport authority statement said.

“Unfortunately, there were no survivors on the flight,” Manila airport general manager Ed Monreal told a news conference.

The runway was closed as investigators arrived at the scene to determine the cause of the incident.

Another video of Lion Air burning at NAIA runway. The incident happened around 8PM, March 29.
Video taken by Renvil Perez pic.twitter.com/0jdqOROjZ9

— Jacque Manabat (@jacquemanabat) March 29, 2020

Most passenger aircraft at the airport have been grounded for weeks since the government put Manila and the rest of the main Philippine island of Luzon on quarantine to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus. (with reports from AFP)