ARAYAT, Pampanga — A 55-year old retired Royal Air Force pilot died in an ultralight plane crash in a remote farming village at La Paz Turu here, some 94 kilometers northeast of Manila, authorities said.
Mark Hoggett, who stayed at Camella Homes in Barangay Maliwalo, Tarlac City, where he settled with a Filipino woman, was a member of the Angeles Flying Club, a group of ultralight plane enthusiasts stationed at Woodland Air Park in Magalang, Pampanga.
Hoggett was alone when he took off aboard an ultralight MKll plane from Woodland Air Park shortly before he crash landed in an unhabitated farming village past 3 pm, according to police report.
A former British RAF squadron leader, Hogget was forced to retire at the age of 47.
His last assignment before he left the service included Iraq and Afghanistan.
Residents in nearby communities saw a small plane gliding moments before it crashed in a muddy field.
“The strong impact damaged the plane beyond repair,” said one of the rescuers who rushed to the scene shortly after the incident.
Hogget suffered fatal injuries including fractures in different parts of his body when lifted by rescuers from the ill-fated plane.
He was rushed to a medical facility in this town but was declared dead by an attending physician.