What happened
On October 17, 2009, at approximately 12:04 pm, a DC-3 aircraft, registration RP-C550, departed from Manila Domestic Airport, headed for 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 controller inquired if an emergency was being declared, to which the pilot responded negatively.
Following standard procedures for VFR arrivals 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, and the pilot had still not officially declared an emergency. Noticing 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 caused the total loss of the aircraft and resulted in all fatalities among the occupants.