CAAP chief calls Cebu Pacific mishap 'near-disaster'

MANILA, Philippines - The director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines described the stalling of a Cebu Pacific aircraft as a "near-disaster," a week after the runway mishap disrupted airport operations and affected businesses and thousands of passengers.

 

"Near-disaster only because of the fact that not one became a casualty in the accident," said CAAP Director-General William Hotchkiss III in his speech during the final inspection of the Laguindingan International Airport in Misamis Oriental on Tuesday.

 

He explained that 165 passengers and crew members were de-planed safely without a single fatality or injury.

 

On the evening of June 2, Cebu Pacific Flight 5J-971, an Airbus A-320 plane, from Manila bound for Davao City, had just touched down at the Davao International Airport when it veered off the centerline of the runway and nose-dived into a ditch.

 

The plane was stalled in the airport's runway for two days, disrupting flight schedules and causing a loss of about P250 million in the local economy.

 

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said the city government will file administrative charges against the management and employees of the Davao International Airport.

 

Hotchkiss admitted that "perhaps it was a miscoordination between the CAAP through the Davao airport manager, and the local government units in the vicinity of the airport."

 

He also admitted that there is a need to plan and coordinate disaster response mechanisms between the CAAP and local government officials for a professional and coordinated response in such airport incidents.

 

"Perhaps we can do the right thing (when a similar incident happens again)," said Hotchkiss, who added that there are two separate ongoing probes on the incident.

 

Hotchkiss said they will coordinate with local government units to calibrate airport disaster response mechanisms while there have been discussions to improve airport accident and disaster manuals.