Two injured as trainer aircraft hits rickshaw

Manila: A flight instructor and her student were hurt after their trainer aircraft grazed a passenger rickshaw while landing on an airfield in Pangasinan province in northern Philippines, a radio station reported yesterday.

According to the Bombo Radyo report, the two-seater single-engine aircraft was on a training flight when the accident happened.

It said the aircraft had just touched down and was taxiing on the airfield when the rickshaw suddenly darted alongside the plane.

The collision damaged the aircraft's horizontal stabiliser, the Bombo Radyo report said.

The aircraft, manned by flight instructor Queenie Gaviola and student-pilot Joseph Valledor, took off from Las Piñas City in Metro Manila.

Police are hunting down the driver of the three-wheeler rickshaw who fled after the accident.

Authorities are investigating how the rickshaw was able to enter the airfield's restricted area.

Rickshaws — locally known as tricycles — consist of a motorcycle and an attached passenger cab. Like jeeps and buses, tricycles are a common mode of public transport in the Philippines especially in the rural areas.

Cheaper lessons

There had been a noticeable increase in accidents involving light aircraft in recent years as more students take flying lessons.

Some of the students are foreigners and most come to the Philippines because lessons in the country are cheaper compared to other countries.