A Malaysian man and his Filipino companion were killed when a single-engine light aircraft crashed in the northern Philippines, a police spokesman said today.

Tian Yu Wong, 22, and Christian de Leon, 28, were killed instantly late yesterday when the two-seater Cessna plane crashed in an orchard in Magalang town in Pampanga province, 70 kilometres north of Manila.

Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz said Wong was piloting the plane when it crashed.

Aviation investigators were still determining the cause of the crash, Cruz said, adding that according to witnesses the plane was flying very low when the accident occurred.

- dpa