'No foul play in Robredo plane crash'

MANILA (Updated) -- The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) on Monday ruled out foul play in the plane crash last August 18 that killed three people, including Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.

"It is established that there is no foul play. It is an accident," Caap Deputy Director General John Andrews said during an en banc meeting of the congressional oversight committee in Pasay City.

Andrews said the investigating committee is focused on the engine of the ill-fated Piper Seneca plane.

But a separate probe is being conducted by Caap to determine the people who would be held liable for the accident.

Caap officials also asked for an executive session to bring up the details of the ongoing investigation, a radio report added.

Last September 4, the plane wreckage recovered from the crash site located about 800 meters off the shore of Masbate was transported to Manila.

A Philippine Coast Guard vessel carried four crates that contain the fuselage, two wings and engines and other pieces of the Piper Seneca plane, registered as RP-C4431.

The plane wreckage is being inspected by a special investigation committee formed by Caap that is composed of aviation industry experts.

The committee also has four support groups that were tasked to look into the crash on different angles: human factor, airframe and structure, powerplant group, and aircraft systems.

Periodic reports will be submitted by the special committee in the course of the investigation, which is yet to be completed.

The plane crash also killed Captain Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese co-pilot Kshitiz Chand. (Emmanuel Louis Bacani/Sunnex)