On March 17, 1957, a C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft crashed on the slopes of Mount Manunggal on the island of Cebu in the Philippines. The crash killed 25 of the aircraft's 26 occupants, including the incumbent president of the Philippines, Ramon Magsaysay. Several high-ranking Philippine government officials, military officials, and journalists were also among the dead. The sole survivor was a reporter for the Philippine Herald, Nestor Mata.

Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automobile mechanic by profession, Magsaysay was appointed military governor of Zambales after his outstanding service as a guerrilla leader during the Pacific War. He then served two terms as Liberal Party congressman for Zambales's at-large district before being appointed Secretary of National Defense by President Elpidio Quirino. He was elected president under the banner of the Nacionalista Party. He was the youngest to be elected as president, and second youngest to be president. He was the first Philippine president born in the 20th century and the first to be born after the Spanish colonial era.