JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press Writer

SAMAL, Philippines (AP) -- In the country's worst aviation disaster, an Air Philippines Boeing 737-200 crashed today in a foggy coconut grove in the southern Philippines, killing all 131 people aboard, officials said.

The plane took off from Manila and was unable to land on its first approach to Davao city because another plane was on the runway, air traffic controllers said.

The plane crashed on nearby Samal Island as it prepared to make another approach from the opposite direction, air traffic controllers said.

Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said it was too early to determine the cause of the crash, but added that there was cloud cover in the area and a low ceiling.

The plane was given a normal maintenance check before taking off and no problems were found, an airline official said.

Air Philippines spokeswoman Leah Sison said all of the 124 passengers and seven crew members aboard were confirmed dead.

She said the airline had been told by the Australian Embassy that some Australians were among the passengers. There were no immediate reports of other foreigners.

The crash comes just two days after the a Federal Aviation Administration panel recommended that Boeing redesign the rudder assembly on all models of the Boeing 737, the most widely used passenger jet in the world.

The 737 rudder system, which controls left-right movement of the plane, came under close suspicion after the crash of USAir Flight 427 near Pittsburgh in 1994 that killed all 132 people aboard. A similar disaster had occurred in 1991, when United Flight 585 crashed in Colorado Springs, Colo., killing 25.

According to the latest information available, the Air Philippines plane had flown 79,522 flights totaling 68,475 hours, about average for a plane built in 1978, Boeing spokesman Sean Griffin said. Air Philippines is not the plane's first owner, but Griffin did not know who first owned the plane or when Air Philippines purchased it.

Griffin said a team of Boeing investigators was ready to go to the Philippines if the government there requests help.

Visibility was intermittent at the time of the crash, air traffic controllers in Davao said. The airport is not equipped for instrument landings in low visibility conditions, and landings had been briefly suspended for several minutes before the plane's initial approach, officials said.

Smoke from the crash could be seen from Davao, a thriving commercial center 625 miles southeast of Manila.

The plane was destroyed except for a portion of its blue, orange and red tail section, which stood against a coconut tree. A priest sprinkled water over charred remains as he delivered last rites.

``With an impact like this, it's impossible to have any survivors,'' said Brig. Gen. Benjamin Defensor Jr., who helped supervise rescuers.

By late afternoon, rescuers had recovered the plane's voice recorder and filled 81 bags with remains, Mercado said.

The flight data recorder was apparently still buried under the smoldering debris, officials said.

At Davao's airport, relatives cried and hugged each other as Red Cross personnel tried to comfort them.

Planes, buses and ferries throughout the predominantly Catholic country were jammed Wednesday before the start of Easter holidays, when many Filipinos return to their hometowns.

The crash was the country's third major transportation accident in a week. On Apr. 12, a cargo ship carrying more than 200 illegal passengers capsized after leaving southern Sulu province, killing more than 140 people.

On Monday, a passenger ship struck a fish trap and sank south of Manila. All 137 people aboard were rescued.

``It is sickening. It is really saddening,'' Transportation Secretary Vicente Rivera said of the accidents. The government would try to determine how to make transportation safer in the country, he said.

Pope John Paul II on Wednesday sent his condolences to the archbishop of Davao. He said he was praying for the souls of the dead and offering comfort to the bereaved.

Air Philippines, which began operations in 1996, is one of a number of new airlines created since the industry was deregulated several years ago.

Several new airlines use aging planes and have been dogged with safety and maintenance related problems. Today's crash was Air Philippines' first, although it has had several previous maintenance concerns.

In 1998, a Cebu Pacific DC-9 jet crashed near the top of a fog-shrouded mountain in the southern Philippines, killing all 104 people aboard in the Philippines' worst previous air disaster.