4 ‘foreign looking’ men die in plane crash in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 6 Feb) — Four persons said to be “foreign looking” died when their plane registered to what appears to be a national security contractor in the United States crashed on a rice field in the municipality of Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur Thursday.

The airplane with body number N349CA that crashed in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur. Photo from the Facebook page of Jho Upam

Tim Ambolodto, head of Maguindanao Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said his counterparts in the municipality has recovered four bodies.

“They are foreign looking. We are waiting for the SOCO to conduct further investigation,” he said.

The crash site alerted the farming community of Malatimon in Ampatuan past 2 p.m. Thursday.

A carabao also was hit and damaged his face during the crash incident.

A Beech King Air 300 Fixed Wings and Multi-Engine Aircraft Model with body number N349CA was found in the crash site.

Records from the Federal Aviation Administration in the US show that the airline was registered to Metrea Special Aerospace ISR Inc. of Bethany in Oklahoma.

Metrea’s website said “it is the leading provider of effects-as-a-service to national security partners across multiple domains and over a dozen mission areas.”

It further said that “Metrea delivers integrated, turnkey Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (AISR) solutions to our defense partners. Our fleet is manned by highly experienced former military pilots, ISR sensor operators and specialized maintenance teams deployed to austere, remote worldwide locations.” (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)