Engine trouble eyed in DC-3 plane crash
AIE BALAGTAS SEE, GMANews.TV
10/20/2009 | 12:05 AM
If only Capt. Jaguar Juane listened to his live-in partner's advise, he may be still alive today.
Juane, pilot of the ill-fated DC-3 aircraft, had noticed that there was something wrong with the World War II vintage plane minutes before taking off at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Saturday.
“Iniikot pa lang nila [yung plane pero nahalata na niya] parang may sira. Sabi ko wag na kayong umalis, ipagpabukas niyo na," said Gina Buco, Juane's live-in partner, in an interview aired over GMA News' "24 Oras."
(He had already noticed that something was wrong with the plane, so I told him to postpone the flight to another day.)
Less than 30 minutes after taking off, the aircraft crashed in an abandoned warehouse in Las Piñas City, killing Juane and three others.
Investigators are eyeing engine trouble in the crash.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) chair Capt. Jose Saplan said this was obvious after Juane alerted the NAIA control tower of the plane’s return barely six minutes after it took off.
According to the transcript provided by the NAIA, Juane alerted the tower at 12:10 p.m. that the plane needed to return. Since he did not specify that it was an emergency, he was told to use runway 13 instead of the nearest hangar, runway 06.
When the comptroller noticed that the Victoria Air-owned plane was flying lower than what was safe at 12:14 p.m., he advised Juane to proceed to runway. He did not get any response.
At 12:38 p.m., the plane crashed into an abandoned warehouse in Villa Fidela Subdivision in E. Aldana Village, setting it on fire and killing Juane, Benjamin Rivera, Richard Genaya, and a certain Mr. Cedingan.
Aside from engine problems, officials would also investigate if the plane violated air safety regulations for allegedly carrying more than the allowable volume of aviator gasoline, the television report said.
Angel Atutubo, NAIA’s assistant general manager for safety and security, said the ill-fated plane had previously encountered two technical problems.
Victoria Air has yet to issue an official statement on the accident.
Juane was survived by his three children, who Buco said were not even aware of their father’s fate until they he saw him inside his coffin.
The brother of Genaya, Arthur, said it was hard for him to accept the fact that his youngest brother was among the fatalities. What made it more painful was he and his siblings were clueless on how to inform their parents that Richard is already dead. - GMANews.TV
Juane, pilot of the ill-fated DC-3 aircraft, had noticed that there was something wrong with the World War II vintage plane minutes before taking off at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Saturday.
“Iniikot pa lang nila [yung plane pero nahalata na niya] parang may sira. Sabi ko wag na kayong umalis, ipagpabukas niyo na," said Gina Buco, Juane's live-in partner, in an interview aired over GMA News' "24 Oras."
(He had already noticed that something was wrong with the plane, so I told him to postpone the flight to another day.)
Less than 30 minutes after taking off, the aircraft crashed in an abandoned warehouse in Las Piñas City, killing Juane and three others.
Investigators are eyeing engine trouble in the crash.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) chair Capt. Jose Saplan said this was obvious after Juane alerted the NAIA control tower of the plane’s return barely six minutes after it took off.
According to the transcript provided by the NAIA, Juane alerted the tower at 12:10 p.m. that the plane needed to return. Since he did not specify that it was an emergency, he was told to use runway 13 instead of the nearest hangar, runway 06.
When the comptroller noticed that the Victoria Air-owned plane was flying lower than what was safe at 12:14 p.m., he advised Juane to proceed to runway. He did not get any response.
At 12:38 p.m., the plane crashed into an abandoned warehouse in Villa Fidela Subdivision in E. Aldana Village, setting it on fire and killing Juane, Benjamin Rivera, Richard Genaya, and a certain Mr. Cedingan.
Aside from engine problems, officials would also investigate if the plane violated air safety regulations for allegedly carrying more than the allowable volume of aviator gasoline, the television report said.
Angel Atutubo, NAIA’s assistant general manager for safety and security, said the ill-fated plane had previously encountered two technical problems.
Victoria Air has yet to issue an official statement on the accident.
Juane was survived by his three children, who Buco said were not even aware of their father’s fate until they he saw him inside his coffin.
The brother of Genaya, Arthur, said it was hard for him to accept the fact that his youngest brother was among the fatalities. What made it more painful was he and his siblings were clueless on how to inform their parents that Richard is already dead. - GMANews.TV
