BY CARLO ANOLIN
The Lionair plane crash at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Sunday night added more tragedy amid the COVID-19 pandemic the country has been battling.
All eight crew members and passengers of the medical evacuation mission plane perished after the aircraft caught fire and exploded prior to take off at the NAIA runway at about 8 p.m., according to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
The 10-seater aircraft of LionairWestwind 24 with registry number RPC 5880 was en route to Haneda, Japan to deliver medical supplies.
Captain Mario Medina Jr. was one of the fatalities of the tragic crash. He was friends with Ramon Fernandez, commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission, as first reported by Spin.ph, and Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
The report disclosed that Medina and Fernandez were ‘kumpares’ since 1973, back when the former was still in Ateneo.
Their group also involved Gil Cortez and Ompong Segura, Fernandez’s former teammates with the Toyota Comets in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA), Premier Volleyball League chief Ricky Palou and sportscaster and columnist Quinito Henson.
Turns out, Medina was a sportsman himself who loves to play basketball and golf. He was a fan of no less than boxing legend and Senator Manny Pacquiao, the report added.
Cone, likewise, revealed on social media that Medina was one of his golf buddies and a ‘frequenter’ at Ginebra games.
“Great guy, great humanitarian. Another friend gone. Tragic,” Cone tweeted, who is still mourning the passing of legendary coach Aric Del Rosario due to cardiac arrest.
Aside from Medina, those who died on the spot were identified as Captain Ren Edward Nevada, Captain Melvin Bruel de Castro, Jael Edmark Agravante (flight crew), Dr. Cenover Nicanoro Bautista, Tomelda Conrado (registered nurse), John Richard Hurst (Canadian national) and Marilyn Vergara de Jesus (American citizen
