Beechcraft A36: Three dead, but trainee pilot survives plane crash in Hokkaido, Japan.

TOKYO — Three people died but a trainee pilot survived when their plane plunged into mountains in Hokkaido on Thursday after its engine caught fire.

The survivor, Isamu Kawaguchi, told police he was thrown from the single-engine Beechcraft A36 by the impact of the crash during a flight from an aviation school based in Obihiro.

Two instructors and another student were killed, said a spokesman for the government-affiliated Civil Aviation College.

It was the second fatal accident involving planes from the college which has produced about 3,500 civilian pilots in its 57-year history, he added.

Source:  http://www.japantoday.com