What happened
On October 17, 2009, at approximately 12:04 pm, a DC-3 aircraft, registration RP-C550, departed from the Manila Domestic airport en route to Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Roughly five minutes into the flight, the pilot-in-command notified Manila Tower that the aircraft needed to return to the airport because of a technical issue. During this communication, the air traffic controller inquired if an emergency was being declared, but the pilot responded in the negative.
Following standard VFR arrival procedures for runway 13, the pilot was instructed to proceed toward South Mall while awaiting further guidance. The aircraft was subsequently cleared to cross the end of runway 06. Noticing that the aircraft was flying at an extremely low altitude, the tower controller issued an immediate clearance to land on runway 06. However, the aircraft failed to reach the runway.
At approximately 12:14 pm, RP-C550 struck an abandoned warehouse located in Villa Fidela Subdivision, Brgy. Elias Aldana, Las Piñas City, roughly 4 kilometers from the threshold of runway 06. The impact and subsequent fire resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and all aboard sustained fatal injuries.