Engine failure caused ‘585’ crash — Pilot

‘It was engine failure’

Engine failure caused the crash last week of Laoag International Airlines Flight 585 into Manila Bay in which 19 of the 34 aboard were killed, its pilot said yesterday.

In his first public statement on the Oct. 11 tragedy, pilot Bernie Crisostomo said he tried his best to safely ditch the plane on the sea and apologized to the families of those who died.

Minutes after takeoff, at an altitude of 400 feet, the Fokker-27’s right engine sputtered, Crisostomo said, forcing him to attempt an emergency landing at a nearby airstrip.

But "as I executed the bank to the left, and just before making the 180-degree change of direction ... the left engine suddenly lost power," Crisostomo said over dzMM radio.

"I did my best to glide the plane and ditch it safely on the water and I am sorry that I could not save everybody," he said.

Three Britons and six Australians were among the 19 people killed. Fishermen and rescue teams saved 15 passengers, some of whom however were in critical condition.

Salvage teams completed last week the recovery of the plane’s wreckage and its black box, or flight data recorder, has been sent for analysis abroad. – AFP