A thorough investigation should be conducted on an aircraft that crashed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport killing eight people on Sunday night, Malacanang said on Monday.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace extends its sympathies to the families of those who perished.

"We are so said to learn that a plane crashed last night taking lives of eight persons," he said.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the grieving families of those who perished in the crash," Panelo said.

"There must be a thorough investigation of the incident and the concerned government agencies must undertake measures to secure the safety or private aircraft as well as their passengers and crew," the Palace official stressed.

When West Wind plane owned by LionAir Inc. was preparing to take off at the NAIA, it exploded minutes later and crashed on the runway at around 8pm.

Eight people, including two passengers and six crew members, died.

The aircraft was supposed to be on a medical evacuation mission to Haneda, Japan. Celerina Monte/DMS