CARMEN, Davao del Norte—A pilot of an aerial spray plane died after his plane crashed around 6:45 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, at Purok 1, Barangay Mangalcal, here.
The victim, identified as Jessie Kevin Roska Lagapa, 25, resident of Block 2, Lot 6, Ibabao Road, Baywater, Agus, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, was declared dead at around 7:55 a.m. by Dr. Jacouline Agustine after he was rushed to a nearby hospital by the rescuers from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC)-Carmen.
Initial investigation by the Carmen Municipal Police Station said an aerial spray plane owned by Davao Aerowurkz Corp. with body number RP-R5388, was conducting an aerial spraying operation on a banana plantation when it crashed.
According to residents, they noticed that the plane was flying low when it got entangled in a power line of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and crashed.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is now assisting in the investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
The victim is now at a morgue of Carmen District Hospital in Carmen, waiting for his family to bring his body to Cebu. (Jeepy P. Compio of SunStar Davao)