Sorry not enough, Palace also probing if Xiamen Air should pay damages

MANILA, Philippines — An apology by Xiamen Airlines is not enough, Malacañang said Monday, as it vowed to investigate whether the pilot of the plane that overshot the runway at Ninoy Aquino International Airport last week has liabilities. 

"It's not just an apology that we will ask for. We're now conducting an investigation if there's any liability on the part of the Xiamen pilot, that's why he has been asked not to leave the country. That's part of an ongoing investigation," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a press briefing. 

Roque said investigators would look into all sorts of liability including those that could result in the payment of damages. 

"It can’t be any different from the laws on tort and it can’t be any different from our criminal laws on reckless imprudence resulting to damages," he added. 

Roque said the incident should remind airport authorities to prepare contingency measures. He noted that many passengers were asked to wait even if their flights were canceled.

"If there are delays, perhaps the airlines and the airport authorities should already decide to cancel flights so that there would be no crowding in the airport...But of course, we welcome any form of investigation. It does not happen frequently in NAIA, thank goodness. So we could always learn from this experience," he said.

A torn-off engine pod from a XiamenAir Boeing 737-800 series passenger aircraft, operating as flight MF8667 from Xiamen to Manila, is seen after the aircraft slid off the runway while attempting to land in bad weather at the Manila international airport on August 17, 2018. A Chinese passenger jet slid off the runway as it landed at Manila airport in torrential rain, authorities said August 17, with all 165 people on board safely evacuated though a few suffered minor injuries.

Ted Aljibe/AFP

The Xiamen Airlines aircraft landed on its second attempt before skidding onto the grass, ripping off its left engine and blocking the runway late Thursday evening. The 157 passengers and eight crew aboard were able to disembark without suffering any major injuries.

Around 165 international and local flights were canceled on Friday and Saturday at NAIA after the plane's bumpy landing. Officials said moving the plane was complicated by heavy rains that softened the ground, making it difficult to install the two cranes needed to lift the aircraft.

By noon on Saturday, flights had resumed their normal schedule, but some passengers were not impressed by the speed of the recovery operation.

"At last," tweeted one disgruntled observer. "That's a record 36 hours."

The plane's black box and flight data recorder have already been recovered by investigators.

— Alexis Romero with AFP

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