Oops, PAF general survives but son dies in plane crash

TANAUAN, Batangas — It’s Edgar Calvo Jr. and not his father, retired Philippine Air Force (PAF) Gen. Edgar Calvo Sr., who died in Sunday’s plane crash here, officials said yesterday.

Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla clarified this to The STAR, saying two sons of General Calvo were aboard the light private plane that plowed into a coconut grove in Barangay Santor in Tanauan City, killing four people including the pilot, and injuring two other passengers.

Padilla pointed out it was the retired general’s son and namesake who died in the mishap. The other son, Francis, survived the crash.

"Actually, two sons of General Calvo were involved in the accident, Edgar Jr. and Francis Calvo. Luckily, Francis survived and he is now recuperating at the Makati Medical Center," Padilla said.

The PAF official denied the mistaken information subsequently published in the May 8 edition of The STAR originated from their office.

"We released press releases on the plane crash but we did not mention that General Calvo is included as one of the fatalities," Padilla said.

Skydiving has been a passion for the older Calvo and his sons but following the incident, the 56-year-old Air Force man has decided to end his days of air acrobatics.

After more than 15 years and 950 sky jumps, Calvo told the STAR, "I’m retiring," as he tried to hide his sorrow for losing his second son whom he fondly called Egay. He was only 26.

The retired Air Force general prayed for the recovery of Francis, who sustained third degree burns and body injuries. He is now at the Makati Medical Center’s intensive care unit.

The older Calvo kept his composure as he reminisced their skydiving days. He even joked about breaking a STAR reporter’s leg for the slip that he was the one who died in the plane crash.

Calvo and his wife Josefina, 54, a nurse, were personally attending to Francis as other family members rushed to the hospital to offer comfort.

The air accident happened at around 11 a.m. Sunday. Calvo’s group was preparing to go skydiving when their single-engine Cessna plane crashed into a coconut field near a residential area. No residents were hurt. The cause of the mishap has yet to be determined as an investigation is underway.

Chief Inspector Noel Sandoval, Tanauan City deputy police chief, identified the two other fatalities as Jose Perez, a businessman, and Jimmy del Rosario, a commercial photographer.

The plane belonged to Chemtrad Corp. and company owner Manny Baradas (not Barada as earlier reported) identified the dead pilot only as Captain Estuesta.

Baradas’ son, Ryan also survived the incident and is now being treated at the Makati Medical Center for burns and bruises.

Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary Nilo Jatico, chief of the Air Transportation Office, has issued a directive grounding all Cessna planes owned by Chemtrad Corp. pending an inspection on the "air worthiness" of its aircraft and investigation of Sunday’s crash.

"It’s a safety precaution that we take to ensure that the riding public is safe to fly," Jatico said, adding that this was standard operating procedure.

According to their information, he said that Chemtrad Corp. has 18 airplanes including three Cessna 207s, several Islanders and other lighter planes.

As to the probe, the ATO official said: "Our investigators will go back to the crash site and will interview some witnesses as one of the bases in our fact-finding investigation."

"Eyewitnesses will be of great help in this investigation because we could determine if the accident was caused by human error or mechanical malfunction," he said.

Jess Matalog, a resident of Santor village, said he witnessed thick smoke billowing from the engine before it hit a high-tension wire and a couple of coconut trees before crashing and bursting into flames.

Last March 5, a pilot of Chemtrad Corp. identified as Capt. Raymond Castillo was reported missing after the single-engine Cessna plane beached off the waters of Jomalig in Quezon province as it was transporting fish from Cuyo Island in Palawan.

The ATO has taken note of this incident, said Jatico.

"We’re in a position to believe that the pilot drowned," he said, adding that Castillo can only be officially declared dead if he remains missing for a year.

According to Jatico, the ATO grounded Chemtrad’s planes after the March 5 incident. But the ground order was lifted a week later when they found the plane had beached or "landed on a water surface" after running out of fuel. It was learned that the Cessna could not land on schedule due to bad weather conditions.

Investigation of the Sunday air accident showed that the Cessna plane with wing number C-3126 experienced engine trouble a few minutes after taking off from the privately owned Baradas airstrip. It was a few hundred feet high in the air when it began to plummet.

ATO records showed that the plane left the Manila Domestic Airport at around 8:25 a.m. to pick up Calvo’s group for a skydiving exercise in Tanauan.

Chemtrad Corp. maintains a number of Cessna planes used in various businesses such as transporting live fish to Palawan and other parts of the country. They also rent out planes for personal use or chartering to foreigners. — With Rainier Allan Ronda