Accidental firing of rocket in Cebu air base probed

CEBU – Had the rocket launched by accident last Friday from a helicopter gunship at the Benito Ebuen Air Base in Lapu-Lapu City headed left instead of right, it could have hit the Mactan-Cebu International Airport right next to it and probably caused carnage and untold damage.

The airport handles dozens of domestic and international commercial flights daily, involving thousands of passengers.

Airport manager Angelo Verdan, who was in Manila at the time of the incident, learned about it the following day and said he hopes the Air Force can do something to prevent it from happening again.

As it turned out, the rocket landed in Barangay Babag II, narrowly missing the airport.

But the incident quickly raised concerns among local officials who wanted to get assurances from the Philippine Air Force regarding the safety of communities surrounding the base.

The projectile accidentally launched was an unguided, 70-millimeter folding fin air rocket.

Vice Mayor Norma Patalinghug said the city council will investigate the incident to determine the safety of residents near the Benito Ebuen Air Base.

The Air Force is itself conducting an investigation into the accident.

A Department of National Defense official said the DND will monitor how the Air Force conducts its inquiry before checking on claims that certain officials at the base tried to ask the Lapu-Lapu police to keep the incident "under wraps."

Air Force armament specialists at the base were reportedly doing maintenance work when one of them apparently touched a button that accidentally fired the rocket.

The defense official, who asked not to be named, said there will be no whitewash in the probe. – Freeman News Service