Philippine Airlines Flight 206

Philippine Airlines Flight 206
A Philippine Airlines Hawker Siddeley HS 748 similar to the one involved.
Accident
DateJune 26, 1987
SummaryControlled flight into terrain due to bad weather
SiteMount Ugu, Benguet, Philippines
16°19′9″N 120°48′6″E / 16.31917°N 120.80167°E / 16.31917; 120.80167
Aircraft
Aircraft typeHawker Siddeley HS 748
Aircraft namePR-206
OperatorPhilippine Airlines
RegistrationRP-C1015
Flight originManila Domestic Airport, Metro Manila, Philippines
DestinationLoakan Airport, Baguio
Passengers46
Crew4
Fatalities50
Survivors0

Philippine Airlines Flight 206 (PR206) was the route designator of a domestic flight from Manila Domestic Airport, Metro Manila, Philippines, to Loakan Airport, Baguio. On June 26, 1987, the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 crashed onto a mountain en route to Baguio, killing all 50 people on board.[1]

Accident

On the morning of June 26, 1987, Flight 206 departed the Manila Domestic Airport for Loakan Airport in Baguio, around 250 kilometers (160 mi; 130 nmi) north of Manila. It was scheduled to arrive at 11:10:00 Philippine Standard Time in Baguio, a city with an altitude of about 1,500 meters (4,900 ft).[2] As the plane approached Baguio City, its pilot reported poor visibility. A monsoon was also reported in the area.[3] Flight 206 disappeared from the radar screens around ten minutes before it was scheduled to land.[2]

The wreckage of the plane was discovered five hours after it had gone missing. Flight 206 had crashed onto the fog-shrouded slopes of Mount Ugu, a 2,086-meter-high (6,844 ft) mountain located between Itogon, Benguet and Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya.[4] The crash site was located around 180 meters below the summit of Mount Ugu, and 15 kilometers south of Loakan Airport.[2]

Fatalities

There were no survivors among the 46 passengers and 4 crew members on the plane. Most of the fatalities were Filipinos, including Catholic Bishop Bienvenido Tudtud, Prelate of Marawi City,[5] and Gloria Mapua-Lim, wife of then-Philippine Airlines executive vice-president Roberto Lim.[6] At least one American citizen, John Neill who was then the Managing Director of Texas Instruments Philippines in Baguio, died in the crash.[7]

The crash of Flight 206 was, at that time, dubbed as the second worst commercial aviation accident in Philippine history;[2] however, the report of The New York Times proved to be inaccurate, as Philippine Airlines' previous accident in 1967 actually had fewer fatalities than Flight 206. The death toll has since been superseded by the crash of Cebu Pacific Air Flight 387 in 1998, which was surpassed two years later by Air Philippines Flight 541.[1] The crash of Flight 206 remained the third-deadliest accident on Philippine soil until 2021, when a Lockheed C-130 Hercules of the Philippine Air Force crashed in Patikul, Sulu claiming 53 lives.[8]

During the Flight 206 crash, President Corazon Aquino and the airline's board of directors gave condolences to the victims of the Flight 206 and their respective families.

References

  1. ^ a b Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Hawker Siddeley HS-748-209 Srs. 2 RP-C1015 Baguio-Loakan Airport (BAG)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  2. ^ a b c d "50 Killed in Philippine Air Crash". The New York Times. 1987-06-27. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  3. ^ "Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 06261987". Air Disaster.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2008-04-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Top Ten Mountains: Above the Clouds". Smile Magazine Online: The Inflight Magazine of Cebu Pacific Air. Cebu Pacific Air. 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  5. ^ Mercurio, Edwin C. (Fall 1987). "Bishop Bienvenido Tudtud: "The Lamplighter"" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-04-03.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ Cyril L. Bonabente (2009-04-09). "Crashes in the Cordilleras". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  7. ^ "Bodies of Victims Recovered From Plane Crash in Philippines". The New York Times. 1987-06-28. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  8. ^ Raul Dancel (2021-07-05). "Philippines starts probe into deadly military plane crash, as death toll climbs to 52". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-07-06.