PAL plane veers off Mactan Airport runway
Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) said one of its flights experienced a “runway excursion” when it arrived at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) on Friday.
In an e-mailed statement, PAL said Philippine Airlines flight PR2369 — a De Havilland Dash 8 turboprop with registry number RP-C5911 — “veered off into the grass at the side edge of the runway” when it landed at 11:39 a.m. in rainy weather.
“All 29 passengers and four crew members (two pilots and two cabin crew members) are safe and were able to disembark from the airplane using the aircraft’s airstairs,” PAL said. No one was injured.
According to a separate statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), one of the passengers was an infant.
“Our operations teams are assisting the passengers and will provide assistance and support as needed,” PAL said.
The CAAP said it implemented post-incident protocols and the MCIA runway was reopened at 2:38 p.m. Two flights were rerouted to the nearby Iloilo International Airport.
“Coordination among the concerned authorities [is] ongoing. We have dispatched our accident investigators to the scene as well and we expect to get more information on the situation,” CAAP Director General Jim C. Sydiongco said in a statement.
Thirty-four flights were affected by the runway excursion.
PALAWAN CRASH
Meanwhile, the CAAP reported that an Aerohub Cessna 206 aircraft, with registry number RP-C979, crash-landed in the waters off Barangay Tinaguiban in El Nido, Palawan.
The airplane departed Palawan’s San Vicente Airport at 1:06 p.m., heading to Sangley Airport in Cavite City, but never made it due to engine failure. The crash in Palawan was recorded at 2:18 p.m.
“The first responders were fishermen around the area. But due to big waves, the fishermen were unable to rescue the persons on board,” the CAAP said in a separate statement.
Two people were on board, one male pilot and a female mechanic, along with a cargo of 25 boxes of live fish.
As of the CAAP’s update at 4:40 p.m., the CAAP rescued the two persons on the flight and was still trying to salvage the aircraft. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
