Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II, Aviatour Air, RP-C4431: Masbate plane crash wreckage set for transport to Manila

 
 
A September 4, 2012 press release from the Department of Transportation and Communications

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), today said four crates containing  the plane wreckage of the ill-fated Piper Seneca plane that crashed and killed Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and two others are now set to be transported to Manila from Masbate Airport.

DOTC spokesperson Atty. Nic Conti said the four crates which contain the fuselage, 2 wings and engines and other pieces of RP-C4431 recovered from the crash site, located about 800 meters off the shore of Masbate are now being hauled aboard Philippine Coast Guard vessel 891.

PCG head Admiral Edmund Tan said that the PCG vessel is scheduled to set sail at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) and is expected to arrive the Manila South Harbor Thursday at 2:00 p.m.

CAAP Deputy Director General Rodante Joya said that they will move the pieces of evidence straight to the CAAP office along MIA Road in Pasay City.

Joya added that the wreckage will be inspected by the 5-man Special Investigation Committee formed by CAAP composed of aviation industry experts headed by Capt. Amado Soliman, chief of the CAAP accident investigation board.

The formation of industry experts to investigate the crash complies with the directive of outgoing DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas, who ordered nothing less than a “comprehensive and exhaustive” probe into the crash.

Other members of the Committee are vice chairman Capt. Beda B. Badiola, retired General Ramon A. Ragasa (representing general aviation sector), Capt. Felipe L. Timola, Jr. (representing airline industry), and Col. Allen T. Paredes (representing military aviation sector).

Badiola is a PAL senior vice president, Ragasa is a retired PAF general, Timola is Cebu Pacific Airlines director for safety, while Paredes is also with PAF.

The committee also has four support groups that were tasked to look into the crash on different angles: human factor, airframe and structure, powerplant group, and aircraft systems.

In ensuring a systematic inquiry approach, the Committee’s Airframe/Structure Special Group will assist the investigation team in inspecting the right engine. The Committee will submit periodic report in the course of the investigation.

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