9 DEAD IN PAF PLANE CRASH IN COTABATO
CITY RESIDENTIAL AREA
[PHOTO
AT LEFT -
Philippine Air Force rescue teams retrieve bodies of victims from the
site after a twin-prop Nomad aircraft (inset) crashed in Cotabato City
yesterday. AP]
COTABATO CITY, JANUARY 29, 2010 (STAR) By John Unson - A military plane crashed yesterday into a residential area here, killing nine people including an Air Force general and other officials aboard as well as a civilian on the ground.
Among those killed were Maj. Gen. Mario “Butch” Lacson, commanding officer of the 3rd Air Division of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
Lacson was among the eight military officers on the twin prop Nomad 18 transport plane that crashed into Virgo Subdivision at Rosary Heights 9 at noon in this city.
The other fatalities were identified as Maj. Prisco Tacoboy, 2Lt. Alexander Ian Lipae, Sgts. Cristy Llamera and Ronaldo Mejiya.
Brig. Gen. Carlix Donila, commander of the 530th Air Wing and camp commander of the 3rd Air Division based here, said Capt. Gaylord Ordonio and his co-pilot 1Lt. Angelica Valdez with crew S/Sgt. Jeffrey Gozum were killed instantly in the crash.
Initial reports said a certain Inday Mondrano was killed after a concrete wall collapsed on her when the plane crashed, setting fire to three houses.
Another resident identified as Sheila Gumiton was rushed to the city hospital for treatment of injuries.
There were initial reports that a boy went missing shortly after the crash.
Donila said the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Awang airport here where it dropped off tactical operations officer Col. Cris Tumanda who was to report back to the 3rd Air Division.
The plane had stopped in Cotabato on its way from Davao City to Zamboanga City.
Donila said Ordonio was able to contact the control tower in Awang minutes before the plane crashed.
“Four minutes later the pilot contacted the (control) tower informing them that the plane lost power, then they disappeared,” Donila said.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) deputy director Ed Kapunan confirmed that the pilot radioed soon after takeoff from Awang airport, saying the plane had developed an emergency and was heading back when it crashed.
The plane first slammed on the roof of a house owned by a certain Rogelio Daet before it hit two nearby houses and burst into flames.
The crash triggered a fire that burned several houses in the area.
Television footage showed one charred body among the flaming debris as people tried to help firemen put out the blaze, some dousing the fire with garden hoses and pails of water.
City firemen led by Adam Guiamad said the bodies of the victims retrieved from the crash site had been burned beyond recognition.
“With the condition of their charred remains, there is no way we can identify each of them. Experts would have to initiate DNA testing to enable authorities to identify all of them,” Guiamad said.
‘A sad day’
Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Gerardo Zamudio said Lacson and the other Air Force officials were on their way back to Zamboanga City after attending a meeting at the Eastern Mindanao Command headquarters in Davao City.
On their way back to Zamboanga, they dropped off Tumanda at Awang airport in Cotabato and minutes after takeoff, the plane apparently developed engine trouble.
Zamudio said Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena ordered an investigation into the accident and grounded all Nomad planes for inspection.
The 12-seater plane built in Australia is one of the two remaining serviceable Nomads in the Air Force inventory. Another Nomad is undergoing repair.
Nomads are used by the Air Force for maritime patrol and short haul transport of troops.
Zamudio said the Nomads were purchased brand new by the Air Force in December 1975.
Zamudio though stressed there is an ongoing investigation into the incident and refused to confirm the deaths.
“We could not (officially) confirm that they are dead and we could not announce their names because we have an SOP (standard operating procedure) here that we should first notify their respective families,” Zamudio said.
City Mayor Muslimin Sema, as chairman of the city’s disaster coordinating council, said he would ask the regional Air Transportation Office (ATO) to investigate the incident.
Sema pointed out the damage caused by the plane crash that also killed a resident.
He said the city health office is helping the police gather evidence for the investigation.
“This is a very sad day for Cotabato City. This is the first time a plane crash happened here,” Sema said.
The 3rd Air Division, however, mourned the death of their commander and some of their personnel in the crash.
Donila also said the tragedy was a big loss to the area command and Air Force leadership.
“We are at a loss. But we have to go on with our mission,” he said.
Donila said Lacson, a graduate of Philippine Military Academy Class 1977, is a seasoned pilot squadron commander. He assumed command in October last year as 3rd Air Force Division chief.
Lacson is a holder of master’s degrees in National Security Administration and Management from the National Defense College and the Philippine Christian University.
His schooling abroad included Flight Procedures Training Course in Fort Worth in Dallas, Texas in 1996 and International Defense Management Course in Monterey, California in 2003.
He is a recipient of two Bronze Cross Medals, Kahusayan Award, Sagisag ng Ulirang Kawal award, two Distinguished Service Stars, and several military commendation medals and merit medals.
Before his assignment as 3rd Air Division commander, Lacson headed the 560th Air Base Wing and the Western Command (Wescom)
He also served as commander of the 2nd Tactical Operations Wing, the 505th Search and Rescue and also commander of the Air Force Management Information Center.
Lacson was a graduate of the Basic Ranger course, a pilot qualification course, pilot instruction course, basic intelligence source, and squadron officer courses.
He finished his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Liceo del Cagayan University in Cagayan de Oro City.
A native of Misamis Oriental, Lacson was due to retire on Nov. 24, 2011.
Lacson is survived by his wife Elizabeth and two sons, Marion Earl and Marc Eulysee.
Valdez, on the other hand, was a graduate of PMA Class 2006.
She was also a graduate of the PAF flying school at Fernando Air Base in Lipa City in 2008 and had been co-piloting Nomad planes. - With Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude, Rose Tamayo-Tesoro, Rudy Santos, AP.
9th passenger lucky to be alive By Roel Pareño (The Philippine Star) Updated January 29, 2010 12:00 AM
[PHOTO
AT LEFT - . A handout from the 3rd Air Force Division taken Wednesday shows
First Lt. Angelica Valdez (left) and Maj. Gen. Mario Lacson (right) with Brig.
Gen. Carlix Donila, 530th Air Wing commander during a send-off before boarding
the Nomad plane that crashed in Cotabato City yesterday.]
MANILA, Philippines - “I think it’s not my time yet.”
That was all Col. Cris Tumanda, the ninth passenger of the ill-fated Nomad airplane that crashed yesterday and claimed the lives of his colleagues in the Air Force, could say.
Tumanda, a Filipino word which means to grow old, said he was lucky to be alive.
He stressed that the aircraft showed no signs of engine trouble during the early stages of the flight.
Tumanda, group commander of the Air Force’s Tactical Operations Group 12 (TOG-12), was among the nine military officers who initially boarded the airplane on the flight from Davao to Zamboanga City.
The plane landed in Cotabato City to drop off Tumanda who had to report back for duty at the Air Force’s 3rd Air Division in the city.
Shortly after takeoff, the 12-seater twin prop airplane crashed into a subdivision, killing all eight passengers on board, as well as a civilian on the ground.
Among those killed were Tumanda’s immediate superior, Maj. Gen. Mario “Butch” Lacson.
Tumanda said he was shocked and dismayed when he learned that the airplane that he boarded earlier had crashed.
“We (at the Air Force) are very sad. We were together for several hours before they perished,” Tumanda later told reporters.
Tumanda recounted that during the flight, the aircraft showed no sign of any trouble, describing the trip as a smooth flight.
He stressed no one among them showed any signs of premonition.
“I did not feel General Lacson was showing signs of anything. We were happy,” Tumanda said.
Tumanda said Lacson even promised to return to Cotabato City to celebrate the 37th anniversary of the TOG 12.
“I was sad that we lost him because he was supposed to be our guest of honor during our anniversary,” Tumanda said.
Even those on the ground had no idea that death would come from the sky.
Witnesses claimed seeing the airplane wiggling before it crashed.
“It appeared that the plane’s engine was in trouble,” said one resident who identified himself as Samson.
Esmayla Tuastumban, who lives in a house nearby, said she was in the kitchen preparing lunch when she heard a roaring sound above their roof.
“Suddenly I heard a very loud noise, as if big trucks collided head-on. I thought a bomb fell on our neighbor’s house,” Tuastumban said.
One resident, identified as Inday Modrano, was not so fortunate.
Modrano was at the exact spot where the airplane crashed, according to some of the villagers who witnessed the incident in Virgo Subdivision in Cotabato City.
The plane first slammed on the roof of a house of a certain Rogelio Daet before it hit two nearby houses and burst into flames, triggering a fire that burned several houses in the area.
According to Sam Mundas, leader of the local rescue group, Modrano was standing at the exact spot where the plane crashed.
“We have to excavate the ground using a small backhoe excavator to find her (body),” he said. -With John Unson
Aviation chief: Air safety not a one-man job (The Philippine Star) Updated January 29, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said he was not entirely to blame for the poor rating given to the country’s aviation sector by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Ruben Ciron, CAAP director general, was reacting to the CAAP-Employees Union’s pronouncement that he should take the blame for ICAO’s issuance of a significant safety concern or SSC rating on the country’s civil aviation network.
Ciron pointed out that ensuring aviation safety is not a one-man job and that it requires full cooperation of all CAAP personnel.
Ciron also lashed out at Cesar Lucero, vice president of the CAAP-EU, for pushing for his ouster.
“But with CAAP employees like Cesar Lucero - who, from day one, wanted me out of the job - the task of ensuring aviation safety in 80 CAAP-controlled airports all over the country has become doubly difficult,” he stressed.
He said he was not washing his hands of responsibility, but stressed that most of the problems plaguing CAAP - formerly the Air Transportation Office - were due to years of corruption and mismanagement.
“Ironically, these problems were accumulated during the time of previous ATO administrations which Lucero was part of,” Ciron said.
“I merely inherited the burden of repairing the damage when I was appointed director general after the CAAP law was passed in 2008. However, we encountered a lot of birth pains along the way, not to mention uncooperative staff like Lucero,” he said.
He also emphasized that ICAO does not give “pass” or “fail” marks but only “ratios” of compliance with certain protocols.
He said most of the “significant safety concerns” are being decisively addressed and properly communicated with concerned agencies. He said no less than Mohamed Elamiri, chief of the ICAO’s Safety and Security Audits Branch, acknowledged the corrective actions taken by the CAAP.
Lucero earlier revealed to The STAR that an electronic bulletin issued by the ICAO on Dec. 18 last year showed the Philippines among countries on the SSC list, along with Angola, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Congo, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia. Rainier Allan Ronda