26 hurt as plane misses Caticlan Airport runway
Twenty six persons were injured when a landing Zest Air plane with passengers bound for Boracay Island undershot the runway of the Caticlan airport in Aklan Sunday morning.
Except for a passenger who suffered a fractured collar bone, the passengers and a few airport personnel suffered only minor injuries. But the incident forced the closure of the airport for more than five hours.
Insp. Lory Tarazona, police chief of Malay town, said passenger Rowena Versoza, 40, suffered broken bones and a cut on her head. She was taken for treatment at the Aklan Baptist Hospital in Caticlan along with the other injured.
Three of the injured were airport personnel who were hit by debris when the plane crashed against the concrete perimeter fence.
The plane left Manila around 6:10 a.m. carrying 22 passengers including two children bound for Boracay and with three crew members. The passengers included two Korean and two German tourists.
A report of the Air Transportation Office (ATO) in Caticlan said the 72-seater RPC 8993 plane piloted by Capt. Vicente Gazo undershot Runway 06 when it landed at 6:58 a.m.
The plane swerved sharply to the left when it touched the runway after the initial impact and hit a concrete barrier and seriously damaged its nose. The plane's landing gears and propellers also suffered major damages.
Police and airport personnel who responded to the incident evacuated the passengers and crew members to the hospital.
Tarazona said in a telephone interview that except for Versoza, the injured passengers suffered cuts and bruises and were immediately released after they were treated.
The airport was closed to all incoming and outgoing flights because the the plane blocked the 30-meter wide and 950-meter long tarmac.
All incoming flights were diverted to the airport on the capital town of Kalibo until the Caticlan airport was re-opened at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
The airline company said its safety officer is coordinating with the ATO to investigate the cause of the incident.
“It's an unfortunate incident and we are relieved that there is no fatality. We will wait for the result of the investigation,” said Zest Air Director Arturo Alejandrino, in a telephone interview.
The company will shoulder all medical expenses and will offer all necessary assistance to the passengers and crew including the transfer of Versoza to a hospital in Manila.
Four of the passengers opted to return to Manila but most of the others proceeded to Boracay, said Alejandrino.
The airport in Caticlan, the jump-off point to Boracay, is one of the busiest in the country. It averages 18 incoming and 18 outgoing flights daily servicing around 1,200 passengers last year but the volume nearly doubles during Boracay’s peak season starting October until summer.
The safety of the airport has been a concern because of the volume of traffic relative to the size of the runway and because airlines have been operating bigger planes in their Caticlan route. The airport is flanked by a hill on one side and one end of the runway is near the sea.
Alan Java, ATO chief of the Aerodome Development and Management Service and former Western Visayas Area manager said there is a recommendation to extend the runway and to level the hill to maximize the runway area.