MANILA,
DECEMBER 18, 2011 (INQUIRER) The plane crash that
killed 13 people in Parañaque last Saturday has sent transportation
officials scrambling not only to find the cause of the accident but also
to come up with measures that would help prevent a recurrence of the
tragedy.
Accident investigators have initially advanced the theory that the
Beechcraft's engine stopped either because the fuel was adulterated or
because a block in the fuel line "starved" it of fuel. Either way air
transportation authorities cannot escape blame for the tragedy. The
fatal malfunction could only mean there was something wrong with the
aircraft and it should not have been allowed to fly that day.
But who was supposed to make sure the plane was airworthy?
The shocking answer is: nobody. Deputy Director General Daniel
Dimagiba of the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Philippines
(CAAP) said he had been pushing for a spot check on the airworthiness of
small aircraft before takeoff, but his proposal fell on deaf ears. This
used to be standard practice before Alfonso Cusi took over the CAAP
several years back, but it was not restored even under the new CAAP
leadership—until tragedy struck last Saturday.
The crash, which killed 10 people on the ground and burned down 50
houses and damaged about 100 other shanties, has also led to the revival
of an old proposal to clear the area near the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport of informal settlers for their safety. This is a
plan that should have been carried out years ago, although in this
particular case proximity to the airport had little to do with the death
toll. That small aircraft could have crashed on the ritziest
subdivision as easily as it did on that Parañaque shantytown.
However, there are more sensible proposals being put forward in the
wake of the country's most serious air accident since a twin-engine
Fokker plane crashed and killed 19 people in Manila Bay in November
2002. One is the transfer of general aviation operations, which cater to
light aircraft, to Sangley Point in Cavite. The move there would declog
runway traffic and enhance safety at the already overcrowded Naia.
However, the real solution to the many problems bugging the Naia,
including safety concerns, congestion, sanitation and plain ugliness, is
to move the international airport to Clark in Pampanga. CAAP Director
General Ramon Gutierrez said the transfer to Clark is necessary if the
Philippines aims to improve its international safety rating. "We cannot
improve our category rating because we lack the land area specified by
international standards," Gutierrez said, adding that he was hoping the
latest accident would be an "eye-opener" for policymakers.
But policymakers have long seen the necessity and potentials of
moving the international airport to Clark. As early as 1994 President
Fidel V. Ramos issued an executive order making Clark the primary
international gateway to the country. Later, President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the Department of Transportation and
Communications to turn the facility into the country's premier airport.
The Aquino administration, however, seems hesitant to embrace the
idea completely. Instead of taking off from the executive orders of the
two former presidents, it is approaching the project very cautiously.
In October, Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II said the plan to
move the international airport would depend on the success of the
NorthRail Project and the privatization of Naia. He said the transfer
"would not be successful without a fast train," and so the government
was working on the "reconfiguration" of the NorthRail to service Clark.
He also said the government hoped to raise $2.5 billion from the
privatization of the 440-hectare Naia so that the proceeds from the sale
could be used to finance the relocation to Clark.
If these are the conditions for the transfer of the international
airport, it looks like it will never be done during the Aquino
administration. The NorthRail project has been bogged down by problems
for years even as its cost soared higher and higher.
And how can the government sell Naia while it is still being used?
How long will it take to sell it when even the much smaller FTI compound
is taking like forever to dispose of?
Whatever happened to business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan's proposal
to build the exact same projects Roxas wants the government to undertake
on its own?
It seems that the airlines and their passengers will be stranded at
Naia for many more years to come. Or until a much bigger air tragedy
happens.
FROM THE PHILSTAR
THE PLANE CRASH
Probe sought on Parañaque plane crash By Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star) Updated December 13, 2011 12:00 AM
[PHOTO - The ill-fated plane plunging to the ground in Better Living, Paranaque. (Credit; GMA News)]
MANILA, Philippines - Transportation and Communications Secretary
Manuel Roxas II yesterday met officials of the Civil Aviation Authority
of the Philippines (CAAP) and ordered a thorough investigation of the
light aircraft incident that left 14 people dead last Saturday.
Roxas ordered CAAP officials, led by its director general, retired
Air Force colonel Ramon Gutierrez, to ascertain the liability of the
owner of the light plane and effect a speedy, seven-day timeline for the
submission of the investigation report.
Gutierrez reported that he has constituted the Aircraft Accident
Investigation Inquiry Board (AAIIB) headed by Capt. Amado Soliman Jr. to
lead the panel that will investigate the crash of the Beechcraft Queen
Air eight-seater light plane (with registry number RPC-834) in Parañaque
City, which exploded on impact and caused a fire that gutted a
2,000-square-meter section of the slum area.
He also informed Roxas that the ill-fated aircraft submitted an
official flight plan to the CAAP hours before the flight under the
registry of Aviation Technologies Innovators, Inc., a repair
station/maintenance and hangar provider.
But CAAP investigators revealed that the plane had a certificate of
registration under one Capt. Fidel Hembrador, a private operator, who
reportedly leased ATI for the repair, maintenance and hangar parking
services for the plane.
Hembrador has yet to surface following the incident last Saturday.
The CAAP reported that it had retrieved and secured the engines of the plane.
CAAP investigators, with the assistance of the authorized repair
station of the engine manufacturer (LYCOMING), are currently breaking
down the engines to determine if a mechanical malfunction had occurred.
The CAAP had also secured the aircraft record and logbooks, as well
as summary records of the training experience of the crew. – Aie Balagtas See
Chief News Editor:
Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011
by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
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