Jesse plane crash: No foul play

MANILA, Philippines – Officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) maintained yesterday that there was no foul play in the plane crash off Masbate last Aug. 18 that killed former interior secretary Jesse Robredo and two pilots.

CAAP deputy director John Andrews, a retired Air Force pilot, said the Piper Seneca plane that the three boarded with Robredo’s aide was already 40 years old, having been manufactured in 1972.

“We are doing a parallel investigation as far as CAAP is concerned, for possible punitive or other actions to be taken, for or against the airline concerned,” Andrews told the congressional oversight committee on CAAP.

“As far as the accident is concerned, it is established that there is no foul play. Maybe it was an accident that was waiting to happen and I would like to maybe request executive session to bring out the different causes or reasons behind it all,” Andrews said.

The CAAP officials refused to provide the media details of their probe and sought instead an executive session.

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., who chairs the oversight committee, asked about the performance of the 40-year-old Piper Seneca and if one of its two engines conked out.

“The Piper Seneca is supposed to be able to maintain an altitude of 38,000 or 37,000 feet with one engine at the speed of 80 miles per hour,” Andrews told the committee.

“Is it true that its performance goes down by approximately 89.78 percent on a standard 15 degrees Celsius day?” Revilla said.

“Not that much,” Andrews said, adding that the agency has no data yet on the air temperature in Masbate on the day of the crash.

Revilla presided over the meeting of the committee that dealt with Robredo’s plane crash and the issues surrounding the need to upgrade the standards of the Philippine aviation industry.

“We are very, very sure, there is no foul play so we should stop the blame game. This is really an accident,” Revilla said. “I am confident that there was no foul play.”

Revilla, however, said the CAAP will have to dig deeper into the circumstances behind the crash, including the maintenance of the plane which transported Robredo and his party after attending an event in Cebu.

CAAP director general William Hotchkiss said he has created a special investigation committee on the plane crash.

The committee is led by Capt. Amado Soliman, also a CAAC executive and member of the airlines and safety office of the Philippine Air Force.

The congressional committee also dealt with the issue of the proper implementation of Republic Act 9497 or the Civil Aviation Act of 2008.

It also discussed efforts being initiated by the agency to lift the blacklisting of the Philippines in flying to areas in the European Union.

According to Revilla, the Philippines has been downgraded to Category 2 by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the US Federal Aviation Agency and European Union.

“We have to address all these. We hope we can achieve again Category 1 for our airlines,” the senator said.