Military eyes sale of ‘widow-makers’

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes suggested yesterday that the government sell the remaining Italian-made S-211 jets it acquired more than a decade ago after another of the trainer aircraft crashed in Cabanatuan City on Monday.

The death toll from the accident rose to seven as authorities recovered more charred bodies from the row of houses hit by the S-211 jet when it crashed while on a training flight.

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is still conducting an investigation on the cause of the crash.

"This is a type of aircraft which we cannot do anything about. In fact, I think we better sell these so-called widow-makers," Reyes said, adopting the moniker former Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado used for the aircraft.

Reyes admitted though that disposing of the remaining 16 S-211s would mean replacing them with aircraft which may not be delivered immediately.

"But we have to be realistic. We don’t have the budget for it. Our modernization budget of P10 billion was cut to P5 billion," Reyes pointed out.

Reyes said he wished the country could acquire a modern flight simulator similar to ones used to train US air force pilots.

"(But) they will be the ones to decide on that. We cannot force them. We are not begging. We cooperate with them and they help us," Reyes said.

He described as "wishful thinking" hopes that the US would leave some of the equipment they have brought for the ongoing joint military exercises in Basilan and Sulu.

Crash toll rises to 7

Meanwhile, Nueva Ecija Gov. Tomas Joson said police authorities have identified the civilian fatalities as Nora Banere, Evelyn del Moro, Rosalinda Corpus, Pedro Acosta and a certain Apostol.

The jet’s pilot Capt. Louie Ramos and his co-pilot Lt. Raymund de Guzman were also killed in the crash, which is still being investigated by the PAF accident board based at Basa Air Force Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga.

Joson said five other casualties remain in serious condition in several hospitals in the city while 21 others sustained slight injuries. A child has also been reported missing but he could be in the custody of relatives, Joson said.

Aside from the loss of lives, the crash also destroyed some 24 houses in a heavily populated area of Barangay M. Garcia, Joson said, but could not immediately determine the cost of the property damage.

Joson said at least eight families whose homes were burned in the crash were moved to an evacuation center at the M. Garcia Elementary School while others stayed with relatives.

Traumatized residents may also undergo stress debriefing sessions to be conduced by the local mental health association, Joson added.

Air Force spokesman Col. Horacio Lapinid said the two pilots took off on a proficiency training flight at 1:18 p.m. and were supposed to be headed toward Fort Magsaysay in Laur town.

Lapinid said the PAF has a standing policy that pilots should avoid populated areas on training flights.

He also claimed there were "indications" that the two pilots did not eject from the plane because they tried to crash the plane at an unpopulated area.

Maj. Allan Ballesteros, spokesman for the PAF’s 5th Fighter Wing to which the jets were assigned, said the two airmen were already proficient pilots and were only on a training flight.

But Nueva Ecija police chief Senior Superintendent Raul Bacalzo said townspeople said the jet was "flying in a circle" and appeared to be performing aerobatics before it crashed.

Joson pledged he would monitor the PAF investigation, especially on testimonies that the jet was performing aerobatics over Cabanatuan City before it crashed.

At the same time, Lapinid said the S-211 crash was actually the eighth such accident (not fifth as earlier reported) since 24 of the Italian-made aircraft were purchased in 1990.

He said that of the remaining 16 trainer jets, only eight have remained active while eight are undergoing maintenance. Two of the active jets were modified and fitted with armaments for combat missions.

In 1996 alone, four of the jets crashed in separate accidents that were eventually attributed either to pilot error or mechanical failure.