November 17, 2012
The finding by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)
that pilot error was behind the plane crash that killed Interior
Secretary Jesse Robredo should remind everyone that in the era of easy
and readily available air transport, safety remains a key concern and a
nagging challenge.
According to the 14-page report of the special body that
investigated the crash, Capt. Jessup Bahinting, the pilot and owner of
the six-seater Piper Seneca aircraft that sank in waters off Masbate
last Aug. 18 lacked the ability to handle the plane in bad weather.
Bahinting and his Nepalese student-pilot died along with Robredo.
The report said Bahinting erred when he did not turn the plane
back to Cebu at the first sign of engine trouble. The plane had only one
engine operating and Bahinting had no training in what the report
called a “one-engine inoperative emergency.” He could have turned back
to Mactan airport where he had taken off but he pressed on toward Naga
City—a decision that proved fatal. Had he turned back, the accident
might not have happened, or it would have been mitigated, because Mactan
has the longest runway and widest air strip, the most modern navigation
and communication equipment, and the most advanced and trained crash,
fire and rescue equipment and personnel. Bahinting simply ignored dire
warnings and wiser options and brought Robredo—tragically—to his death.
Moreover, Bahinting ignored orders by air safety authorities to
remain at 2,500 feet given the abnormal circumstances of the weather,
the report said. Data from the air traffic control center in Manila
showed that the plane climbed to 4,000 feet before the crash. The report
also cited the testimony of Jun Abrazado, Robredo’s police aide and the
lone survivor of the crash, that the plane veered to the left in its
final approach to the runway, but the pilot appeared to have
miscalculated and maneuvered the plane too late so that it shot off and
crashed into the sea.
A number of plane crashes in the last five years have been mostly
attributed to pilot error. The worst took place in December 2011, when a
cargo plane crashed into a neighborhood in Parañaque City, killing 14
people, including the pilot; 11 of those killed were on the ground. Like
Bahinting, the pilot was considered relatively proficient but was
unable to safely maneuver and land the plane. Both incidents involved
engine trouble, which probers admitted would require the pilots to apply
their skills of maneuvering so as not to aggravate an already bad
situation. In both cases, the pilots fell short of the skills required.
Similarly, a 2008 incident in which a C-130 cargo plane crashed
in Davao Gulf involved a pilot of the Philippine Air Force much
respected by his peers for smooth takeoffs and landings. The crash of
the Air Force workhorse killed nine, mostly PAF men. While PAF
officialdom at first discounted pilot error, later findings pointed to
its likelihood.
It is ironic that Robredo, who was in charge of public safety and
order, should die because of safety infractions. It is even more ironic
that even PAF pilots have perished due to factors that may include
pilot error. In the case of the Robredo crash, the report blamed not
only engine trouble and pilot error, but also the alleged connivance
between Bahinting and CAAP personnel in the issuance of a certificate of
airworthiness for his aircraft even without the necessary tests. The
last finding is particularly worrisome, as readily admitted by President
Aquino, who said he had read the report with “a mixture of sadness and
disappointment.”
“The pieces of evidence point to one
thing,” the President was reported as saying. “If some people did their
job, if the rules of the industry were followed, if those involved were
only faithful to their obligations, the tragedy could have been
avoided.”
Even Robredo’s widow, lawyer Maria Leonor
Robredo, while saying that “the crash report will not make me any
sadder,” urged reforms in air safety regulation. She said she hoped that
the results of the inquiry would lead to reforms to ensure the safety
of air transport and prevent mishaps, such as the one that killed her
husband, from taking place. Hers is an urgent, if plaintive, appeal.
Going by recent air crashes traceable to pilot error and violations of
air safety measures, with some connivance by regulators themselves,
there appears a history of impunity in the breach of safety rules. This
has got to stop—or the much-admired Robredo would have died in vain.
