Air Force heroine gets posthumous promotion

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — President Arroyo has declared pilot Mary Grace Baloyo, who died in the March 26 crash of an Air Force attack plane in a subdivision in Mabalacat town, a heroine by ordering her promotion to the rank of captain last Tuesday.

This was revealed here yesterday by Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Benjamin Defensor, who said the President announced the posthumous promotion during her visit to Bacolod City, hometown of Baloyo, who will be buried on April 8.

"In effect, that was the President’s way of saying that she (Baloyo) was a heroine to the end," Defensor said.

Baloyo and Air Force Capt. Ben Nasayao were on training flight from the 5th Strike Wing base at Sangley Point in Cavite when their OV-10 attack aircraft apparently developed engine trouble as they neared their destination at Crow Valley near Clark Field where the Air Force’s First Tactical Fighter Wing is based.

They were able to alert the Clark airport tower for an emergency landing, but their aircraft apparently lost altitude fast, prompting Nasayao to alert Baloyo to eject from the aircraft.

While Nasayao was able to eject, Baloyo did not, in an apparent attempt to save populated areas below, from being hit by the crashing plane.

The aircraft plunged into a 240-square meter vacant lot at Filhomes Subdivision in Barangay Mabiga in Mabalacat, injuring nobody and causing only minimal damage.

"The way it appears, Baloyo was trying to stir the aircraft away from crowded areas that was why she delayed her bailing out from the plane," Defensor said.

Nasayao suffered minor injuries in the right foot when he landed on a fence some 100 meters from the crash site.

"It seems clear that she ignored the plea of her co-pilot to bail out," Defensor said. "In such a situation, individual decisions must be made."

Defensor said Baloyo’s posthumous promotion was even a bigger honor than just a medal.

He said Baloyo’s parents have requested him to help in bringing to Bacolod Pampangueños who would like to attend Baloyo’s interment on April 8.

Meanwhile, Defensor said the Air Force Safety Office has yet to establish the actual cause of the crash.

While there have been reports that one of the ill-fated plane’s engines malfunctioned, Defensor said it would be "hard to pinpoint the cause, especially if the aircraft had been damaged beyond repair."

He said all the Air Force’s OV-10 Broncos have remained grounded pending the results of the investigation.