Passenger plane nosedives at Caticlan airport runway

The landing gear of a triple engine Yak 40 jet passenger aircraft of the Inter Island Airlines collapsed as it was landing at the Caticlan domestic airport yesterday morning, blocking the airport’s lone runway and forcing the airport to close.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said that although no one was reported injured among the plane’s 23 occupants, 20 of whom were passengers, the crash had forced the closure of the airport since the plane had blocked the runway.

Six domestic flights were consequently affected. Domestic carrier Asian Spirit’s five flights to and from the Caticlan airport were diverted to the Kalibo airport. Asian Spirit said that it deployed its new Bae 146 jets, the Advance turboprop aircraft and Dash 7s to Kalibo to ensure that all their passengers leaving from Manila and Caticlan were served. The other affected flight was SEAIR’s Manila to Caticlan flight.

Assistant Secretary Nilo Jatico, Air Transportation Office chief, however, said that they were not yet grounding the fleet of Inter Island Airlines since their initial investigation showed that the incident was caused by pilot error.

"Iimbestigahan pa natin (We will still investigate). It looks like an undershot landing. Medyo kinapos yung landing, hindi sa runway talaga (The plane missed its landing target)," Jatico told The STAR.

It was learned that Inter Island ISN 210, piloted by Capt. Ismael Caparas with co-pilot Flight Officer Carlos Flores and a flight attendant, had originated from Manila. The plane took off from the Manila Domestic Airport at around 9 a.m. and nosedived at the Caticlan airport 55 minutes later.