Plane skids at NAIA runway

MANILA, Philippines - A Cebu Pacific A320 jet from Iloilo hit the runway edge lights while maneuvering to Terminal 3 after it landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Thursday morning.

Cebu Pacific Flight 5J448, while taxiing toward Terminal 3 for the deplaning of its 95 passengers, hit five runway edge lights in the heavy downpour.

Cebu Pacific said yesterday the aircraft is currently undergoing a thorough check, and awaiting release back into service.

The two pilots of Flight 5J448, identified as Capt. J. Palomillo and First Officer J.S. Gile, were grounded pending investigation of the incident.

Cebu Pacific flights continue to operate as scheduled.

Flight 5J448 from Iloilo landed at runway 06/24 at 4:16 a.m. when its main landing wheel sideswiped five edge lights.

The incident did not disrupt operations at the NAIA.

The aircraft, according to reports, will remain at bay 116 while safety inspectors conduct an investigation.

Airport sources said the cost of one runway edge light is P35,000.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Angel Honrado said in a radio interview yesterday that they received a report about the Cebu Pacific flight that hit the runway lights at NAIA.

“The plane almost veered off the runway. It damaged five edge lights. It’s possible that the plane skidded due to the heavy downpour but we are waiting for a report from Cebu Pacific,” Honrado told radio dzMM.

The heavy rains prompted airport authorities to cancel several flights of various airlines while others were diverted to the Clark International Airport in Pampanga. Thunderstorms hit Metro Manila last Thursday.

In a press briefing, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) director general William Hotchkiss had initiated an investigation and informed the Palace that the Cebu Pacific pilots were grounded and would undergo medical examination.

She said the incident would be submitted to the Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board and to the Flights Standards Inspectorate Service and the aircraft itself would be subject to a thorough maintenance inspection.

Valte said Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya was aware of the concerns of passengers, including delays in flights and lack of X-rays or scanners in airports.

“He (Abaya) did say that some of the units are undergoing repairs; some, for one reason or another, have not been employed. But yes, he’s aware of it and he’s moving on your concerns. Apart from the X-ray machines, about the flights, they’ve speaking to the airlines about reducing the number,” Valte said.

She said the DOTC and other concerned agencies were dealing with the problems as the country was trying to attract more tourists and investors.

Abaya said earlier that the past incidents would not have an effect on the ongoing evaluation by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the European Union of the local aviation system. – With Alexis Romero, Aurea Calica, Louella Desiderio