CAAP official ‘speculated’ on Robredo plane crash probe: DOTC

THE Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) disapproved recent statements of an aviation agency official regarding the plane crash that killed Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, saying they were “unauthorized” and “speculative.”

The DOTC said the statements of Captain John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap), that there was no foul play involved in the plane crash were “personal conjecture” and must not be interpreted as official results of the ongoing probe.

“The remarks made by ret. Captain John Andrews were unauthorized albeit elicited from a joint Congressional committee hearing to look into the cause of the accident,” the DOTC said in a statement.

“They are mere possible theories and not the result of a complete, impartial and thorough probe of the Special Investigation Committee created by DOTC right after the fatal plane crash,” the agency added.

During an en banc meeting of the congressional oversight committee on Caap in Pasay City on Monday, Andrews said the plane crash was indeed an accident as there was no foul play involved based on “initial investigation.”

Andrews also asked for an executive session to "bring up the different causes and reasons behind the crash."

However, the DOTC said such details and findings are yet to be determined by the special investigation committee formed by Caap.

The agency added that the Caap will not cease its probe until all pieces of evidence are examined and thoroughly studied with an official report to be issued at the end of the inquiry.

“The inquiry is ongoing and until the Special Investigation Committee have carefully and systematically examined every parts of the plane wreckage, collated and evaluated all relevant statements culled from thorough interviews of all individuals and organizations involved in the accident, only can we issue official findings,” the DOTC said.

The special investigation committee, which is composed of aviation experts, is tasked to inspect the wreckage of the ill-fated Piper Seneca plane that carried Robredo.

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

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

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

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