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Thursday, May 06, 2004
Campaign plane crashes: 2 killed
By Allan I. Varquez
CEBU -- A Cessna plane, chartered to drop campaign materials by a candidate for Talisay City vice mayor, crashed at the foot of a cliff towering over the Mananga riverbed Wednesday afternoon.
Two of the three people aboard were killed.
The third passenger of the four-seater plane, who sat behind the pilot, suffered deep wounds in the head and bruises in his face, and broke his right thigh.
Witnesses said the plane was flying low, dropping leaflets and confetti for the caravan of independent vice mayoralty aspirant Aberdovey Belleza, when its right wing hit the tip of the cliff in Sitio Borlas, Barangay Lagtang, Talisay City.
It flipped upon impact and then nosedived to the rocky foot of the cliff, some 50 meters deep.
Belleza would have been aboard the plane had it not been for Talisay City Councilor Shirley Belleza, his wife, who suggested that he stay with the caravan and shake supporters' hands.
Residents saw the plane dropping leaflets of Aberdovey and Lakas-CMD gubernatorial candidate Gwendolyn Garcia and runningmate Julian Bacus Daan minutes before it crashed.
Fatalities
Talisay City Police Chief Pablo Florante Lamosao identified the fatalities as pilot Gabriel Cimafranca III, 27, and Baby Tirado, 34, Aberdovey's first-degree cousin.
Plane mechanic Ardin Sanchez Suarez was taken to the Chong Hua Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. A nurse told Sun.Star Wednesday night that Suarez had to be transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) from the emergency room.
It took rescuers more than one hour to pull out the three victims from the wrecked plane.
Lawyer Pablo John Garcia clarified Wednesday that his elder sister Gwendolyn and her runningmate Daan were nowhere near the plane when the accident happened.
"We had no knowledge that such an operation was going on," he added. A barrage of text messages reached the Garcia camp after news of the crash spread, with supporters wanting to find out if Gwen was aboard.
"We condone with the families of those killed and will do everything within our power to help them," said Pablo John. He said that Gwendolyn was in the governor's office for an emergency meeting when the accident occurred.
Take-off
According to the Air Transportation Office, the plane took off from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport to drop campaign materials in Talisay City at 2:43 p.m.
Top Flight Airways is the registered owner of the plane.
Pilot Cimafranca last communicated with the ATO tower at 2:51 p.m., informing that he had started dropping the leaflets and confetti.
At 3:05 p.m., the Talisay City police headquarters received a phone call about a plane crash in Sitio Borlas, Barangay Lagtang.
Lamosao, Provincial Fire Marshal Aderson Comar and City Health Officer Lino Alanzado led the retrieval and rescue operation, which also had the Central Visayas Search and Rescue Team helping as a back-up unit.
Aberdovey began his caravan in Barangay Bulacao at 2 p.m., but as soon as he received a report that the Cessna plane he chartered had crashed in Lagtang, he proceeded to the crash site.
Shirley also cut short her campaign sortie upon learning of the accident.
"He wanted to board the plane, but I told him no because it would be better for him to stay in the caravan to shake hands with his supporters," Shirley said of her husband.
Right wing
The plane tried twice to rise above the cliff, but on its second attempt, its right wing hit the tip of the cliff, causing the craft to overturn and nosedive.
"The plane fell apart, then we had to run because we smelled gasoline and thought the plane would explode," said Aguiles Rebonanza, 10, who was playing beside the riverbed.
A fire truck doused the wrecked plane with water after the three victims were pulled out, to make sure it would not explode.
Shirley said her husband chartered the plane at P43,000 per hour for two hours' use.
She said the couple William and Baby Tirado took charge of negotiating with the representatives of the plane's owner.
William, on the other hand, said his wife had refused to board the plane, but the pilot insisted because he needed someone to guide him where to drop the campaign materials.
He said the plane had just arrived from Bohol when he and his wife made the offer to charter it.
(May 6, 2004 issue)
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