2 PAF pilots hurt in plane accident

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga - A Philippine Air Force (PAF) light attack plane participating in the joint "Talon Vision" RP-US military exercises here broke its landing gear upon touching down at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) runway, injuring its two pilots.

The twin-engine OV-10, piloted by 1Lt. Maureen Fajardo and co-pilot Capt. Villamor Feria, was landing on the runway after taking part in aerial combat maneuvers with US forces when its right landing gear collapsed, causing the aircraft to swerve to the right.

Talon Vision information chief Air Force Capt. Jose Munar said the PAF ordered the grounding of all the 20 OV-10 aircraft immediately after the incident.

"I think it’s premature to say the aircraft crash-landed. This is yet to be established, but we know the aircraft swerved to the right as it landed," Munar said.

Air Force spokesman Maj. Ernesto de la Peña added the initial investigation revealed the accident occurred when the aircraft had already landed.

He said the other OV-10s used by the PAF had been ordered grounded following the incident as a standard operating procedure.

Munar added the two pilots sustained only minor bruises after the hard landing but were flown to V. Luna Medical Center in Quezon City for further examination.

Munar explained Fajardo was flying the aircraft, acting as the first pilot, since she has more experience in flying OV-10s.

He said the aircraft took off from the same airport at about 8:38 a.m. to participate in maneuver and joint air attack exercises over Clark and Crow Valley in Capas, Tarlac as part of the Talon Vision joint exercises with its US military counterparts.

"The aircraft had already completed the exercise and was already landing on Runway 02 of the DMIA when it swerved to the right and skidded on the runway," Munar said.

He said the right landing wheel of the aircraft and its right engine just above it were left damaged by the hard landing.

"The body of the aircraft looks intact but the right wheel and the right engine were affected," Munar said.

"But there were no explosions, and nothing got burned," he added.

Munar said the aircraft form part of the Air Force’s 15th Strike Wing based in Sangley Point in Cavite under the command of Brig. Gen. Oscar de Guzman.

"They are US-made, but what I understand is that we purchased them from Thailand starting 1998," Munar said.

The PAF has about 20 OV-10s, used for reconnaissance and bombing missions during counterinsurgency operations mostly in southern Mindanao, where government troops are battling communist guerrillas and Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

The Philippine military is among Asia’s weakest, and depends partly on allies like the US to help train its troops and to acquire planes and combat equipment.

Last January, an Air Force OV-10 crashed in Bulacan, killing its pilot, Capt. Aniano Amatong, who was commended for steering the plane away from houses and ordering his co-pilot Capt. James Acosta, to eject to safety as the plane plunged into a fishpond due to engine trouble.

Three years ago, 1Lt. Mary Jane Baloyo died while piloting an OV-10 Bronco which crashed into an empty lot in Barangay Mabiga in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

Baloyo failed to bail out of the aircraft while trying to maneuver the plane away from a house. – With James Mananghaya