Angel Atutubo, assistant general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority, said the DC-3 aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Ninoy Aquino International Airport at noon.

Witnesses said the plane was flying low and hit a wall of a house before it crashed into an abandoned warehouse and burst into flames in suburban Las Pinas City.

All four charred bodies recovered from the crash site were from those aboard the plane, according to Atutubo.

He said the plane, owned by Victoria Air Corp, was on a test flight on its way to the western province of Palawan.

Investigators have not yet determined the exact number of people on board the ill-fated plane since they have not yet seen the flight manifest.