Davao plane mishap strands thousands

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – More than 3,000 passengers were stranded yesterday at the Davao City International Airport that was shut down after a passenger jet overshot the runway while landing during a heavy downpour late Sunday.

Frederick San Felix, airport area manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), said normal operations are expected to resume by 7 a.m. today after the aircraft was finally removed from the side of the runway of Davao airport, one of the country’s busiest.

“I already sent a notice for the extension (for the removal of the plane in the runway). We will not be able to finish it on time,” he told The STAR.

Cebu Pacific flight 5J-971

overshot the runway upon landing in Davao City at about 7:05 p.m.

All 165 passengers, including pilot Capt. Antonio Roel Oropesa and co-pilot Capt. Edwin Perello and four crew, were unhurt.

The aircraft reportedly skidded off the runway and veered to the right side toward a grassy portion in front of the main terminal.

The passengers alighted from the aircraft through a plastic slide that brought them to the ground amid a heavy downpour.

CAAP said that the nose wheel of the aircraft collapsed but its landing gear appeared to be intact even as the plane’s left engine was damaged.

“All the passengers were safe,” said airline spokesperson Candice Iyog. “We do not know exactly what caused the airplane to swerve, but we are cooperating with accident investigators.”

As a result, more than 80 flights in and out of the city have been stopped, San Felix said. Those flights transport more than 3,000 passengers daily.

“We have to wait for the investigators. I don’t want to speculate as to what caused the accident,” San Felix told reporters in a briefing.

A team from CAAP Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board that arrived at noon examined the aircraft, an Airbus 320 jet that was part of the airline’s latest re-fleeting program.

San Felix said that probers would retrieve the contents of the aircraft’s blackbox, a sort of memory device that contains the plane’s communication.

The cancelled flights included 20 domestic flights of Cebu Pacific, 23 domestic flights of Philippine Airlines (PAL), and several flights of Zest Air.

San Felix said airlines, on the other hand, are compelled to provide maximum assistance to stranded passengers.

“So far, we have not received any complaints regarding the airlines,” San Felix said.

In a statement, Cebu Pacific said a total of 20 roundtrip flights to and from Davao were cancelled since last night.

These included 11 Manila-Davao-Manila flights, four Cebu-Davao-Cebu, while the rest were from and to Iloilo, Butuan, Dipolog, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro.

“I can assure you that Cebu Pacific is trying to address all the needs of the passengers,” Michelle Fojas, corporate communications manager, told reporters.

These, she said, included “standard compensation,” hotel accommodations and meals, as well as “re-accommodation” to next available flights in General Santos City.

All 165 passengers were unhurt and safely shuttled to the terminal, where their needs were taken care of, the airline said.

Cebu Pacific, owned by taipan John Gokongwei Jr., yesterday beefed up flights in other provinces to accommodate stranded passengers after canceling flights to and from Davao.

In a statement, Cebu Pacific said it arranged extra roundtrip flights between Manila and General Santos, extra flights between Cebu and General Santos, another extra flight between Iloilo and General Santos, and one extra flight between Zamboanga and General Santos to accommodate affected passengers.

The airline said it is contacting guests on their re-accommodation and is providing transfers between General Santos and Davao as well as meals and hotel accommodation if necessary.

As of 7 a.m. yesterday, Cebu Pacific had arranged 16 extra roundtrip flights from Manila, Iloilo, Zamboanga and Cebu to General Santos City, where most stranded passengers were transferred.

For its part, Zest Air management, in a text message to passengers, said all cancelled flights would be accommodated “tomorrow or two days from now.”

PAL appealed to passengers for their kind understanding for the cancellation of flights.

“In order to address the situation, PAL has upgraded to a wide-bodied aircraft for its General Santos-Manila flight to accommodate passengers from Davao who are willing to be re-routed to General Santos,” PAL said in a statement.

PAL said the firm would take care of the land transportation from Davao to General Santos City using air-conditioned buses. All booking fees for the affected flights are being waived. PAL would also provide food and drinks to the passengers.

Though normal operations are being targeted by 8 p.m., San Felix explained that “it will be up to the airlines” whether to resume flying tonight or not.

The CAAP lost about P2 million from airline payments as a result of the incident.

San Felix, meanwhile, assured travelers of the safety of local airplanes.

“All the aircraft that are being registered with the CAAP are air worthy,” he said.

John Andrews, CAAP deputy director, said the Davao airport mishap could have been caused by a “human factor.”

Andrews made a demonstration during a media briefing yesterday of what probably occurred shortly before the aircraft landed and after it touched down, saying that there was a strong crosswind when the pilot landed on runway 23.

He said that at the precise time of the landing, wind was blowing from the northeast at 12 knots, gust was 20 knots with moderate to heavy rains.

Holding a model aircraft, Andrews said the plane was facing the wind and upon touchdown, the pilot should have made the correction and aligned the plane along the runway’s centerline.

“We believe at this time they (pilots) failed to do this, so the plane touched down in this position and continued on until it exited the runway proper,” Andrews added.

Two Davao City lawmakers urged the House of Representatives yesterday to look into Sunday night’s incident at the city’s international airport.

“For the safety of all travelers to and from Davao, this episode has to be investigated so that remedial measures could be taken,” said Davao City Rep. Mylene Garcia-Albano.

She said one passenger reported that the runway lights went out shortly before the plane landed during heavy rains and skidded off the runway.

There were also reports that it took some time for airport personnel, the plane crew, and ground staff to respond to the emergency situation.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles said when the plane skidded to a stop after overshooting the runway, the emergency exit doors were not opened immediately and the flight crew, including the pilot, also went into panic instead of helping the passengers calm down. With Rudy Santos, Lawrence Agcaoili, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero