No clues on cause of crash

MANILA, Philippines - Investigators still have no leads on the cause of the crash of the Air Force plane that killed a senior military officer and eight others in Cotabato City last Thursday.

An 18-member team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) led by Col. Raymundo Elefante is still searching for clues on what could have caused the tragedy that claimed the lives of Maj. Gen. Mario “Butch” Lacson and seven other military officers as well as a civilian on the ground.

“Our Air Force probe team is still collecting vital parts of the aircraft in order to come out with their findings,” PAF spokesman Lt. Col. Gerardo Zamudio said yesterday.

Zamudio said investigators are focusing their efforts on retrieving the plane’s instruments, including the gauges, vertical velocity indicator, altimeter heading and altitude indicator.

These instruments, according to Zamudio, are vital in determining the cause of the mishap.

“Another team has been dispatched to Cotabato to assist civilian victims of the crash,” Zamudio said.

The 12-seater Nomad twin prop plane carrying Lacson and seven other Air Force officials crashed into a residential area in Cotabato City on Thursday, killing all on board, as well as a civilian on the ground.

Aside from Lacson, the commanding officer of the PAF’s 3rd Air Division, the other fatalities were identified as Maj. Prisco Tacoboy, 2Lt. Alexander Ian Lipae, Sgts. Cristy Llamera and Ronaldo Mejia.

Capt. Gaylord Ordonio and his co-pilot 1Lt. Angelica Valdez with crew S/Sgt. Jeffrey Gozum were also killed in the crash.

A civilian identified as a certain Inday Mondrano was killed after a concrete wall collapsed on her when the plane crashed, setting fire to three houses in the area.

Investigators gathered Ordonio was able to contact the control tower in Awang airport in Cotabato City minutes before the plane crashed.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also confirmed that the pilot radioed soon after takeoff from Awang airport, saying the plane had developed an emergency and was heading back when it crashed.

Zamudio said Lacson and the other Air Force officials were on their way back to Zamboanga City after attending a meeting at the Eastern Mindanao Command headquarters in Davao City.

On their way back to Zamboanga, they dropped off Col. Cris Tumanda, group commander of the Air Force’s Tactical Operations Group 12 (TOG-12), at Awang airport.

Minutes after takeoff, the plane apparently developed engine trouble, Zamudio said.

Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena had ordered an investigation into the accident and grounded the remaining Nomad plane for inspection.

The 12-seater plane built in Australia is one of two remaining serviceable Nomads in the Air Force inventory. Another Nomad is undergoing repair.

Nomads are used by the Air Force for maritime patrol and short haul transport of troops. Zamudio said the Nomads were purchased brand new by the Air Force in December 1975.

Tumanda, for his part, said the aircraft showed no signs of any engine trouble when he was among its passengers during the early stages of the flight.

But he stressed the possibility that the airplane developed engine trouble midway on its flight to Zamboanga City.

Officials of the PAF’s TOG-12 in Cotabato City also said they are certain the plane developed engine trouble.

The officials denied suggestions that the plane might have lost fuel during the flight. They said the plane left Awang airport with a full tank.

City arson investigators led by Adam Guiamad said their initial investigation at the crash site showed the plane’s fuel tank triggered the fire that burned the victims and the houses nearby.

“It was very obvious that the fuel tank of the plane (was full) as shown by the big magnitude of the fire on the spot where it crashed,” Guiamad said.

Guiamad said several residents saw the airplane wiggling in midair before it plummeted.

Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema, chairman of the city’s disaster coordinating council, said more than a dozen witnesses saw the plane “wiggle like a kite” before it went down.

Sema said witnesses saw the plane “struggling hard to gain altitude.”

“At present we’re attending to the needs of the families whose houses were razed as a result of the fire caused by the crash,” Sema said.

Sema said the remains of Mondrano, the lone civilian casualty, have been brought to a local mortuary.

“The incident is something we didn’t want to happen. We’re pretty sure that it was an accident and that there was no sabotage there whatsoever,” Sema said.

Tumanda added the search and retrieval operations at the crash site had been concluded with all the bodies of the victims accounted for.

“Identifying each of them is another thing. The Armed Forces is doing its best to identify each of them,” Tumanda said.

‘Not enough thanks’

The Army’s 6th Infantry Division initiated an emotional departure ceremony for the eight Air Force officers who perished in last Thursday’s crash.

Division spokesman Lt. Col. Benjamin Hao said the Army conducted the ceremonies to express their gratitude to the Air Force for their support.

“It was a simple but very emotional rite. We can’t thank their families for having allowed them to serve the country through the Philippine Air Force,” Hao said.

Ranking Air Force officials arrived at Awang airport Thursday night to oversee the return of the remains of the eight servicemen to Manila.

The bodies were flown to Villamor Airbase in Pasay City yesterday with Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Victor Ibrado leading the party of military officials and grieving relatives of the victims awaiting the arrival.

Ibrado and Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena led in giving full military honors to the eight fallen airmen.

Following a very solemn unloading from the PAF’s lone C-130 plane, the bodies of the fallen airmen were brought to a funeral home in Pasay City.

Zamudio said the remains of the eight would be brought to their respective families today after a vigil at the PAF gymnasium

“Even as the Philippine Air Force mourns the loss, it is comforted with the thought that General Lacson and the men and women in blue who died with him are the highest embodiment of courage and dedication to duty and the service,” Zamudio said.

Hao, on the other hand, said the AFP would indemnify the owners of the houses destroyed by the crash.

“The PAF, and the AFP in particular, is keen on addressing such concerns,” Hao said.

Sema also said the city government would render assistance to the owners of the houses burned in the crash.

He said the city government would also provide medical support to those injured by the incident.

“But claims and indemnifications shall only be according to the limits set by law. I’ve told the affected villagers to be prudent and restrained in their claims for government support,” Sema said. - With John Unson, Jose Rodel Clapano