Cessna crash-lands; pilot, student unhurt

CEBU, Philippines – A Cessna plane crash-landed on Camotes Island yesterday after its engine shut off while the pilot and his student were on their way back to Mactan after a training flight to Ormoc.

Captain John Almero and student-pilot Alaa Mehdi escaped from what could have been a fatal accident without any serious injury.

"The pilot has no injury while may bukol lang yong student pilot," says Ken Madrid, spokesman of Avia Tours Flight School in Lapu-Lapu City.

Almero and Mehdi were on a routine training flight yesterday morning from Mactan to Ormoc City. The single-engine Cessna 152 plane reportedly encountered engine problem at 11:00 a.m. on their way back to the hangar in Mactan.

Almero said the engine suddenly shut off prompting him to find an open space for emergency landing. Almero said he found an open space in Lake Danao Barangay Campo, San Francisco Camotes where he successfully crash-landed.

Madrid said the plane worth P1.5 million could have only sustained minor damage but since some residents stepped on the plane's wing the damage could be bigger.

Madrid said since their school was established in 2005 they have been very strict in its safety.

The said flying school has 35 airplanes, 20 of which are for training while the other 15 are chartered planes.

Kirk Segovia, airways communicator of Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (formerly Air Transportation Office) said that as their standard operating procedure, an aircraft accident investigator from the Flight Standard Inspectorate Service will conduct an investigation on the said accident.

Segovia added that they already forwarded an initial report to their head office in Manila about the incident for them to conduct the investigation. (FREEMAN)