DAVAO CITY – Four persons were killed after a private aircraft crashed on a rice field in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 6.

POLICE secure the crash site in Barangay Malatimon, Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur. (Photo courtesy of Sam Mala)
The Ampatuan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said that the four fatalities are believed to be foreigners. The MDRRMO has yet to confirm the nationalities of the victims.
The MDRMMO said the aircraft with flight registration N349CA crashed around 2 p.m. in the middle of the rice field in Barangay Malatimon, about eight kilometers from town proper.
The MDRRMO added that a carabao was injured after the plane hit its snout.
"Sabi ng nakausap namin, nakita na lang nila pababa na ang eroplano tapos bumagsak na sa palayan."
(A witness saw the plane going down and crashing into the rice field)
Records at the online database of the United States Federal Aviation Authority showed that the aircraft is a Beech Super King Air 350-B300 registered to Metrea Special Aerospace ISR Inc. based in Oklahoma, United States.
According to its website, the firm is a "leading provider of effects-as-a-service to national security partners across multiple domains and over a dozen mission areas."
FAA records said that the plane is equipped with turbo prop engines and manufactured by Raytheon Aircraft Company in 2002.