'He fought like a hero': Young doctor among 8 killed in ill-fated medical flight

MANILA -  A young doctor was among the 8 people who lost their lives when a Japan-bound plane erupted in flames during takeoff at the Manila airport this weekend, his sister said. 

Dr. Nicko Bautista, 33, was on the Lionair-operated Westwind aircraft that was headed for Haneda airport Sunday, said his sister Ria. None of the medical evacuation mission's 6 crew members and 2 passengers, an American and a Canadian, had survived, investigators earlier said. 

"No words can describe how devastating it is to lose a family member in such a horrific way. How do you process something like this. How," Ria, a singer-song writer, wrote on Facebook. 

"All I know is that he fought like a hero and I can only hope that his fight would not be in vain. RIP, Nicko. I love you my brother. I will honor you forever," she added. 

In a separate statement, the Department of Health said that hours before the accident, "the pilot and crew members just finished transporting health commodities and supplies to Zamboanga, Mactan, Iloilo, and Butuan."

"We would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the victims involved in the crash. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time," the DOH added. 

Bautista was a doctor at the Mandaluyong City Medical Center's surgery department, said his sister. 

He had said that he "can't wait" for the novel coronavirus epidemic to end so that he could spend time with his family and friends. 

"I can't wait to not think about if I'm going to be sick or not. If I'm going to be another number of the census board... Let's fight this, and in all honesty, I'm scared as hell," he said in a Facebook post, a screenshot of which was shared by Ria. 

In a separate post, Bautista also urged patients to disclose their travel history, after one COVID-19 patient's failed to do so and passed the disease to a doctor, which led to his death. 

"When you lie, we die... Consider your actions. We try our best to protect you from this horrid disease, but who will protect us? Kindly do your part. Stay at home. Don't lie to your doctors. Check your privilege," he said last March 21. 

It was not immediately clear what caused the plane crash, which the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said might take a year to investigate. 

Lionair is also the owner of a medical evacuation aircraft that crashed in Calamba, Laguna and left 9 dead in September last year. Authorities are still investigating the incident, said CAAP. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

8 killed as fire engulfs plane on NAIA runway

MANILA - Eight were killed as flames engulfed a plane taking off from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday, authorities confirmed.

The plane, which was on a medical evacuation mission to Haneda, Japan, was carrying 2 passengers and 6 crew members, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said in a statement.

The accident happened around 8 p.m. as the plane, identified as a West Wind 24 aircraft, was taking off at the end of Runway 24, MIAA said. 

MIAA's Fire and Rescue team were immediately dispatched to the site to douse the flames with chemical foam.

"Unfortunately, no passenger survived the accident," MIAA said. 

Authorities have temporarily closed the runway as investigators from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of the Civil Aeronautics Authority of the Philippines determine the cause of the incident, the agency added.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Chris Brown barred from leaving PH

MANILA -Singer Chris Brown was barred by airport authorities from leaving the country on Wednesday, a day after his concert at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Brown's plane, a Gulfstream G450 aircraft, was supposed to depart at 1 p.m. Wednesday from a private hangar near Terminal 4 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

However, the singer was advised by immigration and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to secure clearance from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed that the DOJ had issued a lookout bulletin against Brown in relation to a complaint over the singer's canceled show at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan last New Year's Eve.

De Lima did not mention who specifically filed the complaint.

As of writing, Brown was still seeking clearance from authorities, with the singer hoping to leave the country within the day. -- with reports from Raoul Esperas and Dexter Ganibe, DZMM

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

No Filipino on missing AirAsia flight - CAAP

MANILA - The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) confirmed that there were no Filipinos listed on the AirAsia flight that has gone missing on Sunday morning.

In a statement, CAAP also said A320-200 flight QZ8501 did not pass through the Philippines’ flight information region (FIR).

“According to the CAAP operation rescue and coordinating center, the flight path of the said flight is far away from Philippine FIR and no record of such pass thru the Philippine air space today,” the agency said.

The AirAsia plane went missing en route to Singapore from Indonesia. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the flight less than an hour after it left the Juanda international airport.

Air Asia said the pilot of flight QZ8501 had requested "deviation" from the its flight plan because of bad weather.

"The aircraft... was requesting deviation due to enroute weather," the Malaysia-based carrier said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
"Communication with the aircraft was lost while it was still under the control of the Indonesian Air Traffic Control (ATC)." – with Agence Franc Presse

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com