Divers recover second engine

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has already recovered the right engine of the Piper Seneca plane that crashed into the waters of Masbate last Aug. 18, killing Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and two pilots.

“With the successful retrieval of the right engine, the search operation is now terminated,” PCG commandant Vice Admiral Edmund Tan said.

Tan also informed Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas that the right engine has been successfully retrieved and is now being brought to Masbate port.

According to PCG Bicol District commander Commodore Joel Garcia, the divers found the plane’s right engine in waters 186 feet deep and 800 meters from shore at around 12:45 p.m. yesterday.

Garcia said it took the divers five hours to make the second dive because they had to refill their tanks. Before they left the site, they placed a floating balloon marker to indicate the exact location of the engine.

The PCG divers and personnel also took a 10-minute break around noon as a sign of respect for Robredo, who was laid to rest yesterday, 10 days after the crash.

PCG spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo said that Tan gave instructions that all PCG vessels were to sound their horns at noon for two minutes in memory of Robredo.

Tan said the PCG divers and personnel from their Masbate station did not have not the opportunity to pay homage to Robredo since his body was recovered because their work at the crash site was not done.

The PCG ship BRP EDSA 2 also performed a flower drop at the crash site.

Garcia explained that it was important to recover the right engine, since it will be used in the investigation of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

The right engine would help the CAAP find ways to prevent a similar incident from happening again, Garcia added.

Meanwhile, according to a source at the CAAP, the Aviatour Fly’N Inc. insured the ill-fated Piper Seneca RPC-4431 for P2.5 million, while its passengers and crew were covered for P500,000 each.

The insurance policy MICO/AV/00/201100519 covers the period from Oct. 16, 2011 to Oct. 15, 2012.

The source said if the plane was insured for P4 million, the family of the passengers and crew could claim up to P1-million each in insurance coverage in case of death.

According to documents shown by the source, the plane was sold to Aviatour Fly’N Inc. in Cebu on Sept. 24, 2007. The aircraft bill of sale, however, did not indicate the amount of the sale. – With Perseus Echeminada