Saturday, February 02, 2008 Editorial: Flight 387, lessons and memories
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the ill-fated Cebu Pacific Flight 387. Lives perished and dreams were shattered on that fateful day in February 1998. Grief-stricken families had nowhere to turn to but themselves. The airline industry's credibilty was put to test once again, and Cebu Pacific faced the enormous certainty of closing down.
But as the old cliche goes, time heals broken hearts. Acceptance mended ruined lives and slowly, dreams were rebuilt from scratch. Life goes on and for Cebu Pacific and the aviation industry in general, it's business as usual.
Today, the victims' families will once again dutifully visit the shrine built to honor their dead. The annual trek to Mt. Sumagaya, where the Cebu Pacific's DC-9 airplane crashed, has built strong friendships among the affected families.
As the families of the unfortunate 104 passengers and airline crew remember their departed loved ones, we can only offer our deepest sympathy and hope that everybody has already reached closure on that tragic accident that no doubt has shattered the lives of not only a few.
Looking back, the lesson of Flight 387 tellingly reverberates today with the recent decision of a US aviation watchdog to downgrade the country's rating in terms of compliance with international aviation safety standards. The decision of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is a damning evidence that despite the worst air disasters this country has seen in the past, our officials remain ambivalent to the grave danger the substandard aviation practices pose to air passengers.
Pilot error strongly emerged as the likely cause why Flight 387 crashed. Sensibly, what should follow would be agressive reforms and programs aimed at upgrading the technical know-how of airline industry personnel. If the Mt. Sumagaya incident wasn't enough awakening, then pray tell what is.
Apparently--and appalingly--key officials tasked to ensure safety in the air travel business failed to reckon that self-evident truth.
Perhaps until another Flight 387.
FAA found that the country's air operations lack aviation experts. This is compounded by the absence of an established safety evaluation systems. Meaning: we're virtually flying in steel coffins.
