Davao City to Sue Airport; Cebu Pacific ‘Suspension’ Looms

An estimated amount of P250 million pesos was lost in local businesses due to the stalling of a Cebu Pacific aircraft on the runway of the Davao International Airport, which disrupted flight schedules and stranded thousands of passengers.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said this is a “conservative estimate” of losses to the local economy as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

She said in an interview Wednesday morning that the cost is for everything already, adding that they cannot actually give value to the
inconvenience the incident caused to the passengers.

Due to the mishap, Duterte said they are planning to file charges against the Davao International Airport which she claims “did not do anything when the accident happened.”

She said that they are collating the documents right now and they plan to file  administrative charges against the management and employees of the Davao International Airport on Monday, next week.

Duterte said those to be charged includes the airport manager down to the employees on duty on Sunday night when the Cebu Pacific was stalled.

She said they would not file charges against Cebu Pacific.

Meanwhile, reports say that initial findings point out pilot error as the likely cause of the plane mishap. Civil Aviation Authority of the
Phillippines Deputy Director General John Andrews said the pilot error seems to be the root cause of the accident that befell Cebu Pacific Flight 5J 971 from Manila to Davao, which was unable to make a normal runway landing Sunday evening during a downpour and instead touched down on grassy soil and stopped nose down 1.2 kilometers later.

Andrews explained that if a pilot does not see the runway, one may initiate what they call a ‘go-around’ or a missed approach even if the aircraft is 500 or 100 feet from touchdown.

He said in a news conference that with the results that they have now, this may justify a suspension for the airline. Andrews does supervision over the CAAP’s Aircraft Accident and Inquiry Investigation Board.

CAAP director general William Hotchkiss on the other hand said in a report on one of the national TV news programs that they are well aware of the impact a suspension of Cebu Pacific may have on the economy.

He said that they are weighing that [franchise suspension] as one of the options and that they are discussing now the implications to the national economy. He added that it will have to be the President who will decide on the suspension. Hotchkiss is a retired commanding general of the Philippine Air Force.

Captain Andrews  also noted that after the plane skidded off the runway, it took Cebu Pacific at least 15 minutes before they were able to evacuate the passengers from the plane.

At about 7:05 p.m.  Sunday, the Cebu Pacific aircraft missed runway 23 upon landing in Davao City. It reportedly skidded and veered to the right side toward a grassy portion in front of the main terminal.

All 165 passengers, including the pilot, co-pilot and four crew, were not hurt.

On Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) gave Cebu Pacific a 3 p.m. deadline to remove the stalled aircraft. It was extracted from the runway around 8 p.m.

More than 3,000 passengers were stranded on Monday after the incident shut
down the Davao airport.

The findings will be confirmed later on when the plane’s flight data recorder is sent to Singapore for investigation.

Cebu Pacific management gave their word in an interview however, harsh words were still thrown at them.

The flight passengers have decided to file a class suit against Cebu Pacific.

Source: www.gmanetwork.com, www.philstar.com