All three people aboard, including two children aged 7 and 8 and the pilot, escaped unhurt.

The pilot circled for about half an hour to lose as much fuel as he could to avoid the possibility of fire in case of crash.

Firefighters from Fitchburg and Leominster placed fire engines on both ends of the runway and in the middle and had two ambulances ready to meet any emergency situation.

According to an eye witness and fellow pilot Loy Riley of Worcester, who has been a pilot for 30 years, “the landing was as good as they could have hoped for.”

The post SIAI-Marchetti Makes Controlled Crash Landing at Fitchburg Municipal Airport first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Philippine Air Force SIAI Marchetti SF.260TP Warrior
Where: Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines
When: May 18, 2012
Who: 2 aboard
Why: The Philippine Air Force trainer that took off from Danilo Atienza Air Base in Sangley Point at around 6:55 a.m and failed to return was reported to have crashed in waters off Mariveles, Bataan. No distress call was made.

Witnesses say the plane tilted sideways and nosedived into the sea, with no smoke or explosion. Some of the wreckage— fuel tank, a pilot helmet and one of the seats of the plane—was recovered at 7:30 a.m in 180 foot deep water. Coast guard divers have been searching. The missing pilots, Major Neil Tumaneng, a graduate of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1995, and his co-pilot, Lt. Michael Arugay, of PMA Class 1999, are still missing.

The Philippines Coast Guard, the Philippine National Police, and Philippine Army found some wreckange; however a fishermen found partial remains in deep waters.

The crash occurred near Fortune Isle, a tiny rocky island near Mariveles.

The post Pilots lost off the Coast of Mariveles first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

What: Philippine Air Force Siai-Marchetti AS-211 Warrior
Where: Banawang village near the Stela Mariz Beach resort, Philippines
When: April 28 2011
Who: 2 pilots
Why: After taking off from Basa Air Base (Clark Field in Pampanga) on a routine flight, the Aermacchi S-211 trainer jet crashed near the beach.

Initially reports said there was one person aboard, but later reports say there were two who both died in the crash. One body has been retrieved, and divers are searching for one of the pilots who is missing. The condition of the plane is described as “vaporized” and “disintegrated.” Pieces of the plane, and what can be found of the bodies are being recovered for the examination, and local witnesses are being interviewed about what they saw.

The fatalities were Maj. Ephraim Gatus Suyom and Juan de Leon.

The post SIAI-Marchetti Crashes at Sea, 2 Pilots Lost first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.