Robredo plane wreckage shipped to Manila

MANILA, Philippines – Four crates containing the wreckage of the ill-fated Piper Seneca plane that recently crashed and killed Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and two pilots would be shipped from the Masbate airport to Manila.

Lawyer Nicasio Conti, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) spokesman and concurrent Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) officer-in-charge, said the four crates that contained the fuselage, two wings and engines and other pieces of the Aviatour Aviation’s Piper Seneca with registry number RP-C4431 are now being hauled onto Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel.

Admiral Edmund Tan, PCG commandant, said that the PCG vessel is scheduled to set sail at 5:30 a.m. today and is expected to arrive at the Manila South Harbor on Thursday at 2 p.m.

Rodante Joya, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) director general, said that the wreckage would be brought to the CAAP office in Pasay City for the ongoing probe of the Special Investigation Committee (SIC) formed by CAAP director-general William Hotchkiss III.

Joya said the wreckage would be inspected by the 5-man SIC composed of aviation industry experts headed by Capt. Amado Soliman, chief of the CAAP accident investigation board.

The formation of a team of industry experts to investigate the crash complies with the directive of DOTC Secretary Manuel Roxas II.

The other members of the Committee include Capt. Beda Badiola, vice chairman; retired Gen. Ramon Ragasa (representing general aviation sector), Capt. Felipe Timola, Jr. (representing airline industry), and Col. Allen Paredes (representing military aviation sector).

Badiola is a PAL senior vice president, Ragasa is a retired Air Force general, Timola is Cebu Pacific Airlines’ director for safety, while Paredes is also with the Air Force.

The committee has four support groups that were tasked to look into the crash from different angles: human factor, airframe and structure, power plant group, and aircraft systems.

In ensuring a systematic inquiry approach, the Committee’s Airframe/Structure Special Group will assist the investigation team in inspecting the right engine. The committee will submit periodic reports.