ENGINE failure was the reason behind the emergency landing of the Cessna aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) around 2 a.m. Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
The emergency landing delayed at least 17 flights: 14 domestic and three international.
Julius Neri, general manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), told SunStar Cebu on Wednesday that based on preliminary investigation, the aircraft was flying toward Samar, Leyte from MCIA.
Moments after take-off, its engine was engulfed with flames, forcing the PAF pilots to return to MCIA and make an emergency landing.
With the condition of the aircraft, it was not able to execute safe landing maneuvers, forcing it to lose its landing wheels and swerve off the runway.
Due to the incident, the airport’s runway was closed at 2:14 a.m. but it was reopened at 5:09 a.m.
Neri said that airport personnel have performed immediate medical assistance to the pilots and passengers of the aircraft who sustained minor injuries.
He added that no fatalities were reported in the incident.
Of the 17 flights affected, 14 were domestic and three were international.
The affected domestic flights are:
* PR2836 – Cebu-Manila
* DG6510 – Cebu-Manila
* PR2295 – Cebu-Cagayan de Oro
* PR2380 – Cebu-Iloilo
* DG6206 – Cebu-Legazpi
* DG6851 – Cebu-Siargao
* DG6468 – Cebu-Bacolod
* DG6715 – Cebu-Cagayan de Oro
* DG6811 – Cebu-Davao
* Z2760 – Cebu-Manila
* Z2759 – Manila-Cebu
* 5J551 – Manila-Cebu
* 5J609 – Clark-Cebu
* 5J567 – Manila-Cebu
The international flights that were delayed include:
* 5J5062 – Cebu-Narita
* OZ710 – Cebu-Seoul
* MU5024 – Cebu-Shanghai
Neri said that PAF will conduct a more comprehensive investigation on the incident. (EHP/With LMY)