Japanese pilot survives NAIA crash

A light plane piloted by a Japanese national crashed at a Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) runway yesterday after the aircraft’s nose landing gear broke and collapsed.

The pilot, Ryoichi Motoyushi, in his early 40s, was flying from Busuanga, Palawan, carrying a load of live tropical fish for aquarium hobbyists, when the accident happened at around 3:10 p.m. on Runway 06-24.

Being an investor, Motoyushi had been granted a license to fly in the Philippines, said Assistant Secretary Nilo Jatico, chief of the Air Transportation Office (ATO).

This is the second time Motoyushi was involved in an airplane accident. The first took place last July when he took off from Busuanga with the runway flooded.

Yesterday, Motoyushi’s luck held.

There were no indication of trouble as the plane, a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, registered as RP-C2703, was making normal approach.

However, right after the touchdown, the plane’s tail immediately went up as the nose landing gear collapsed due to a mechanical problem, said Alger Ramo, chief supervisor of the NAIA-2 ramp control.

"I touched down normally but suddenly, the landing gear collapsed and the propeller sliced the runway," Motoyushi told reporters in English. He stressed that he inspected everything before he left Busuanga.

Ramo said they immediately radioed the NAIA Fire and Rescue Coordinating Center which responded within minutes.

Motoyushi was standing beside his plane, smiling and without a scratch when firemen arrived at the scene.

It took 33 minutes to push the plane out of the runway and have it towed all the way to the old Balagbag Airport at the NAIA complex.

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Edgardo Manda said seven departing flights were delayed.