A U.S. military service member and three defense contractors were onboard the aircraft on Thursday, Feb. 6, when it went down in the Philippine Province of Maguindanao del Sur, according to a statement fromU.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Philippine authorities said the plane was traveling from Cebu Province to Cotabato City when it crashed into a rice field in the town of Ampatuan, according toThe New York Times.
Wreckage of airplane in a rice field in Maguindanao del Sur province, Philippines, after officials say a U.S. military-contracted plane has crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines, killing all four people on board, on Thursday Feb. 6, 2025.Sam Mala/UGC via AP
Sam Mala/UGC via AP
All four people who were on the plane died, according to the statements. The victims’ names “are being withheld pending next of kin notification.”
Local officials said a water buffalo on the ground was also killed in the crash, according tothe Associated Press. Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster mitigation officer, said no people on the ground were injured.
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Metrea announced on Thursday that it had “enacted its emergency response plan and is working closely with all relevant government authorities to establish the cause of the accident.”
“The safety and wellbeing of our employees and customers continues to be our top priority,” the defense contractor’s statement said.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said an investigation into the crash is underway.
source: people.com
