Did the doomed Fokker’s engines conk out due to ‘fuel starvation’?

The mystery of why the Fokker-27 MK-600 of Laoag Air crashed into Manila Bay one kilometer from shore deepened when the Air Transportation Office’s investigators submitted their preliminary report last Friday to Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

Studying the main fuselage of the aircraft, with the engines still intact, which had been recovered from 65 feet below the surface, the probers issued the initial "finding" that both engines of the airplane had "flamed-out" – and here’s the clincher: The report opined that the engines had quit "probably due to fuel starvation". Does this mean that no fuel was going to the engines? The document carried the interesting observation that, as "confirmed by the positions of the fuel tank switches", the switches "were found to be both on ‘OFF’ position". Not being a pilot or aviation expert, I won’t attempt to interpret that strange phenomenon.

The ATO interviewed three crew members of the crashed aircraft, and they all said that the right-hand engine had quit, followed by the left-hand engine. The document said, once more, that "investigation of the wreckage revealed that both the fuel tank isolation valve switches located at the overhead panel on the co-pilot side were in the ‘shut off’ position. This will cause fuel starvation to both engines".

The aircraft, the report recalled, took off from runway 31 of the Manila Domestic Airport but ditched in the Bay a few minutes after becoming airborne. The aircraft broke on impact before completely sinking in the waters of the Bay. In command of the aircraft had been Captain Bernie L. Crisostomo, assisted by First Officer Joseph T. Gardiner. The flight was carrying 29 passengers and five crew members.

It was noted that the pilot and co-pilot escaped through the emergency exit at the flight deck, while several passengers were able to escape from the broken portion of the plane before the wreck completely submerged. Fortunately, nearby fishermen were able to arrive in time to save most of the crew and some of the passengers. Coast Guard and Navy personnel, with the assistance of other rescue organizations retrieved the dead from the wreckage later.

How many of the hapless passengers drowned because they couldn’t get out?

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Was it pilot error, or aircraft defect?

Let’s look at the pilots. Aside from the fact that he had been expelled from the United States during the "anthrax" scare, the pilot, Capt. Crisostomo, 41 years old, was rated on the F-27 (the type of aircraft that crashed) and BE-200 types of aircraft. He had accumulated a total of 6,187 + 56 hours of which 510 + 48 hours were flown on the F-27 — at least this information was derived from "available documents at the ATO". (He graduated from the Philippine Air Force Flying School in 1985). Crisostomo had joined Laoag International Airways last June, 2002, then undergone ground and stimulator training at Merpati Training and Education System at Surabaya in Indonesia.

The First Officer, Gardiner, 30, was rated on the Fokker-27 type of aircraft and had accumulated a total time of 2,173 + 19 hours, of which 294 + 19 hours were on the F-27. He took his "private pilot course" from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1992. He also joined the airline on June 2002, and underwent the same training at Merpati in Surabaya.

The aircraft which figured in the tragic mishap was certainly not new. The plane, RP-C 6888, a F-27 MK 600, was manufactured by Fokker B.V. in 1978 (serial number 10571). Its two engines were Rolls Royce Dart 536-7R, each producing 1910 horsepower (hp).

Is it true that the Fokker was bought, second hand, from Uganda Airlines of Africa?

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What’s fascinating is an item not included in the report because it surfaced only late Friday. Life vests and other stuff recovered from the submerged wreck were examined, and, as procedure requires, subjected to "inspection" by trained sniffing dogs. The canines picked on several vests in which, upon closer scrutiny and testing, traces of shabu or prohibited drugs were established.

Were drugs being transported on the aircraft, and by whom? There’s speculation, of course, that since 28 flights a week fly into Laoag International Airport from Taiwan and mainland airports, shabu could be arriving there in considerable quantities, to be farmed out to different destinations in our archipelago. This is when a domestic airline could prove "useful".

I’m not saying that Laoag Air’s owners or officers are involved in such a racket (it’s a heinous crime), but every facet of that very primitive honky-tonk air carrier’s "history" and operation — in the light of the awful disaster — must be thoroughly investigated.

Why did this Malaysian fella, Paul Ng, so easily get a congressional franchise? Who were his backers, partners et cetera? Who greased the skids? There are still too many unanswered questions for comfort in this case.

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The President is definitely not "attending" the much-touted "soft opening" of the PIATCO Terminal 3 scheduled by its organizers for December 15. That’s what she told this writer last Friday when we had a private lunch in the Cheval Blanc restaurant of Makati Shangri-la, following her speech at the joint meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), the Australia-New Zealand Business Council, and other organizations in the upstairs ballroom.

I spoke with DOTC Secretary Mendoza that same evening, and he, too, won’t be going to that affair. Who in the government, then, will be "blessing" the opening of that very controversial PIATCO terminal? I hope that our government officials have the good sense to stay away, since the PIATCO contract’s onerous provisions still have to be resolved. They should not be stampeded into giving the false impression that the PIATCO contract is a done deal.

I think I know (though I could be wrong) who’ll insist on being there: Tourism Secretary Dick Gordon who’s been backing PIATCO in the Cabinet all the way because he believes, probably, that he needs that portal as the entry point of his "Wow" campaign to attract tourists any which way to his Visit 2003 gimmick. Give it a rest, Dick. More vital issues are at stake in this weird fastbreak deal than saving your face in that tourism gig.

PIATCO’s touters and executives have been bragging that the nation should thank them for building such a snazzy-looking airport terminal. Yeah: It looks great if the intention is to use it as a Shopping Mall. But as an airport Terminal: That’s a serious, not a frivolous function.

To date, not one of the international airlines wants to sign up to use Terminal 3. Sure, they’ve discussed fees, but not moving in dates. Even the October 28/29 "IATA Mission to Manila" report says that "T3 will have a ‘soft’ opening on December 15, 2002, but no one (MIAA, PAGS Terminals, PAL, or the other airlines) knows what this means." This is quoted verbatim from the summary of the IATA mission to Manila "to review status of T3 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport." (The IATA is the International Air Transport Association.)

The IATA further noted in item no. 5 that "There are also the legal and financial questions concerning T3 that need to be resolved quickly. Unfortunately they could stretch on for many years. In the end, the government has some hard decisions to make concerning T3 and NAIA."

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The President said that she’s considering yanking the "concessions" entirely away from the PIATCO and letting the government handle everything directly. That’s an excellent idea. Take the temptation to graft and gravy away from the flim-flam operators – in fact, get rid of the "shopping mall" complex altogether. That’s the mouth watering portion of entire shebang. Many millions of pesos, it’s reported, have already changed hands, with so many "applicants" for concession space jockeying for position. Is this "authorized"? Not with the contract, I believe, still up in the air? Nonetheless, some people will be raking it in – somehow.

As for the warehouse, it must at all times be under the control, supervision and operation of the government. That way, when goods come and go, nothing can be sneaked in or out.

Is that too much to ask of a decent, fair, and up-front contract?

President GMA says she is just waiting for the report and recommendations of the Cabinet committee she has tasked to thoroughly review the matter, headed by Executive Secretary Bert Romulo, and including, of course, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Avelino "Nonong" Cruz, and PMS Secretary Yoyo Afable. Bert Romulo, I can say without hesitation, is a man of honor – and I’m confident he will chair his committee to a sober and even-handed verdict.

GMA reminded me, too, that she’ll stand by the position of her Solicitor General, Justice Alfredo Benipayo, who’s filed a case in the Supreme Court questioning "onerous" provisions in the PIATCO contract. The High Court has scheduled a hearing on December 11.

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The President says she has no intention of conducting a sudden, all-out revamp or purge of her Cabinet.

"Why should I conduct such an operation?" She said that Cabinet members would be "let go", or retained on an individual basis, as merited, not in one swoop. Yes, she said: Some will go, but not in firing squad fashion. (No, it was implied, things wouldn’t be done to please the media).

I submit, though, as I told the Chief Executive, that she has to take drastic and dramatic action on certain issues and problems to demonstrate to a disappointed public that she is a strong and vigorous leader. One thing is sure: She’s a hardworking President — but just "hard work" doesn’t cut it. It’s making hard decisions that does. GMA was unhappy that she’s being criticized regarding her plan to deliver a "major policy speech" on November 30.

"November 30," she reminded me, "is National Heroes’ Day, and I’ll have to deliver a speech on that day. Isn’t it right that I should make it a policy speech, on serious subjects, instead of a frivolous one?" Speeches are fine, Mrs. President: But action speaks louder than words.

Anyway, our meeting – two-on-one – was cordial, and several issues were discussed and views frankly exchanged, some of which I’m not free to discuss. But abangan. Things will be happening. La Gloria is out to show that she’s the Commander-in-Chief, not Little Miss Moffet.

Go get ’em, Madam President. We’re eager to be shown.

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THE ROVING EYE . . . There’s a terrible and very serious misunderstanding, and my advice to Immigration is not to jump to hasty conclusions. A Japanese businessman named Kenji Ikeda was invited by businessmen and friends to come to Manila to talk to Environment Secretary Heherson "Sonny" Alvarez and Mr. Coronacion, the Chairman of the Philippine Coconut Authority, regarding the possibility of his "investing" in the "activated carbon" business. Arriving at the NAIA last November 13 aboard Thai Airways TG 520 from Osaka’s Kansai international airport, Ikeda was stopped by Immigration and curtly ordered to leave the country because, the BID agents said, he had the marking or tattoos of the Yakuza (the Japanese gangster syndicate.) Okay, that’s Immigration’s "call" in any country. What transpired next was puzzling, though. Japanese journalist Kiyoshi Wakamiya, who’s visiting here with his Filipina wife, Lulu, immediately phoned Immigration Commissioner Andrea "Deedee" Domingo to try to intercede for Ikeda, testifying that he had known Ikeda for 30 years, and that Ikeda, who comes from his hometown is a prominent businessman (the community’s "biggest taxpayer"), etc. never mind poor Ikeda, whom I can’t comment on since I don’t know him. However, it seems that our friend Commissioner Domingo, for whom I have tremendous respect both for her previous work in the BID and as congresswoman from Pampanga, took offense at Wakamiya’s arguing in the defense of this guy Ikeda — so now, I hear, Immigration is threatening to deport Wakamiya on the suspicion that he, too, is a Yakuza. A tabloid even carried a story quoting Immigration officers Nelson Valdez and Edwin Veluz to the effect that Wakamiya "yelled at them during their telephone conversation with him. Wakamiya insisted that Ikeda is not a Yakuza gang member and demanded that Ikeda be allowed to leave the airport." (That’s what the tabloid story said). The news report added, by the way, that the Immigration agents had "discovered that he (Ikeda) had a large tattoo of a woman at the back, allegedly a sign of Yakuza gang membership." Gee whiz, guys. A lot of American "Hell’s Angels" motorcycle geeks have large tattoos of women on their backs, and some on their . . . you-know, and they’re not Yakuza. Some of the tattoos even say: "Mother". But that’s neither here nor there. Let’s say that woman’s portrait tattooed on Ikeda’s backside was a Yakuza emblem (don’t British seamen, or French tars, get tattooed with dames on their backsides, as well?). Journalist Wakamiya certainly is not one. There’s only one woman in his life, I can testify, and that’s his wife, Lulu. And she’s not a tattoo. In fact, don’t they recognize this gentleman? He was one of our assassinated hero Ninoy Aquino’s best friends who, in fact, accompanied Ninoy on his ill-fated journey home in August 1983. He was with Ninoy in the Grand Hotel in Taipei, the night before Aquino flew home aboard that China Airlines flight to his date with destiny. Ninoy received a phone call from Manila. Ninoy came back from the phone and said: "Waka, I’ve just gotten word. They’ll hit me in the airport, then blame the Communists for my murder." To which Wakamiya replied: "Does this mean, Ninoy-san, that we’ll now turn back? Surely we cannot go ahead to Manila, because they’ll kill you." And Ninoy said: "No, Waka, we’ll go back as planned. If I should die, then so be it. I’ve given my word that I’ll be coming home. Let’s do it." Deedee: It’s all a misunderstanding. I’ve known Kiyoshi Wakamiya for many years. He’s always been a staunch and loyal friend of the Philippines. Today, he’s a special adviser to Japanese Congressman Hidenao Nakagawa, the chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. He’s certainly no Yakuza. (He never even spoke with those two agents, Valdez and Veluz). In fact, he’s a Takoza (Takot sa Asawa) – like me.