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Sunday, April 06, 2008
Business as usual despite Mactan crash
CEBU CITY -- A four-seater Cessna plane crashed minutes after taking off Saturday morning but, fortunately, did not disrupt airport operations.
Airport authorities have yet to establish what caused the accident.
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According to Agnes Udang, airport manager of area 1, they expect members of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board to arrive anytime in Cebu to investigate.
Based on the plane's flight plan, RPC-2930 was bound for Ozamiz City, carrying prawn fingerlings. Joel Retuya flew it.
The plane took off from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport at 7:31 a.m. Two minutes later, it crashed on a grassy portion a few meters from the runway.
Airport Operations Manager Romeo Bersonda said the accident did not disrupt operations as the crash site is far from the runway.
Officials and personnel from the airport's general aviation unit helped the pilot out of the plane after the impact. They also alerted emergency assistance to bring Retuya to the Mactan Doctors' Hospital, Bersonda added.
Retuya remained unconscious as of press time Saturday afternoon.
Bersonda said they have yet to identify the owner of the plane, a Cessna model 172.
It was the fifth crash in the region and the fourth Cessna plane to crash in Central Visayas so far this year.
Last January 24, a Cessna plane crashed in a private resort in the northern town of Sogod on its way to Mactan. The pilot was unhurt.
Two days later, a Philippine Air Force Huey helicopter crashed in Sitio Mayana, Barangay Biasong in the southwestern town of Balamban. The chopper was carrying two pilots and two crew members, who escaped with minor scratches.
At 2:30 p.m. last January 27, RPC-2706 of Topflite Airways (also a Cessna plane) crashed in Barangay Uog, Inabanga town in Bohol.
The plane's Japanese pilot Captain Takeshi Eshida, his Japanese companion Fugeo Taguchi and a Cebuana identified as Ursula Cabugan, 18, suffered minor injuries. The three were taken to a hospital in Tagbilaran City.
Last January 31, a Cessna plane owned by Flight Dynamic School of Aeronautics crash-landed in Camotes Island. Its lone occupant who was identified as Bikas, an Indian national, was unhurt. (OCP of Sun.Star Cebu)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (April 6, 2008 issue)
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