MANILA: A small passenger plane carrying five people crashed into a house shortly after takeoff about 80km north of Manila on Saturday, killing all those on board and five people on the ground.
The Piper-23 Apache took off from the airport in Plaridel town in Bulacan province and then crash-landed and smashed into the house, Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Eric Apolonio said.
All five Filipinos on board the six-seater plane were killed, and the crash killed five people on the ground, said Supt Julio Lizardo, the Plaridel police chief. The crash ignited a fire in a house that was hit by the aircraft, he said.
Two other people on the ground were injured by burning debris, Lizardo said.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
Witnesses said the plane struck a tree and an electricity pole before slamming into the house. TV footage showed parts of the plane wreckage and the shattered walls of the house at the still-smouldering crash site.
Apolonio said the aircraft, which was operated by Lite Air Express, was bound for northern Laoag city. All the aircraft operated by the transport and courier company were grounded while investigators tried to determine the cause of the crash, he said.