CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 26, 2007) – A Philippine Air Lines (PAL) Airbus A320 carrying 148 passengers overshot a runway in the southern Philippines on Friday, injuring several people.
The plane, which came from Manila, overshot the runway at the Butuan City airport just short of a row of houses at around 6.07 a.m. There were no reports of serious injuries.
Witnesses said the plane landed in the middle of the runway and overshot the runway. “I saw it touched down in the middle of the runaway and the plane went straight and overshot the runway.”
“There were houses on the other end of the runway and it’s just lucky the plane stopped right in front of those houses,” one witness Israel Palero told the radio network dzRH by phone.
He said rescuers rushed some of the passengers to hospitals as smoke billows from inside the immobilized plane. “I saw liquid leaking from the plane. I saw the pilot and he appeared dazed and telling us to evacuate from the plane,” another witness said.
Rolly Estabillo, PAL spokesman, said there is an ongoing investigation into the accident.
“We are asking for apology. We don’t want this to happen. There is an investigation going on,” he said.
The weather was cloudy and windy in Butuan at the time of the accident. “There is low pressure in the area and it could be a factor in the accident. We really don’t know. Let’s wait for the outcome of the investigations,” Estabillo said.
He said the airline would shoulder all the hospital expenses of the passengers. “We are taking care of them,” he said.
PAL currently flies two aircrafts from Manila to Butuan City.
It was unknown whether the accident involving PAL’s A320 was the first in the Philippines, but there had been several accidents worldwide since 1988. Below were some of the recorded crashes involving A320 airplanes, according to the website airsafe.com
June 1988; Air France A320; near Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, France: The aircraft crashed into trees during an air show maneuver when the aircraft failed to gain height during a low pass with the gear extended. Three of the 136 passengers were killed.
February 1990; Indian Airlines A320; Bangalore, India: Controlled flight into terrain during approach. Aircraft hit about 400 meters short of the runway. Four of the seven crew members and 88 of the 139 passengers were killed.
January 1992; Air Inter A320; near Strasbourg, France: Aircraft had a controlled flight into terrain after the flight crew incorrectly set the flight management system. Five of the six crew and 82 of the 87 passengers perished.
September 1993; Lufthansa A320-200; Warsaw Airport, Poland: Aircraft landed with a tail wind. Landing performance and aircraft design led to a late deployment of braking devices. Aircraft overran the runway. One of the 6 crew and 1 of the 64 passengers were killed.
August 2000; Gulf Air A320; Near Manama, Bahrain: The aircraft was making a third attempt to land at the Bahrain International Airport after a flight from Cairo when the aircraft crashed into the sea about three miles (4.8 km) from the airport. All eight crew members and 135 passengers were killed.
May 2006; Armavia Airlines A320; near Sochi, Russia: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Yerevan, Armenia to Sochi. At the time of the crash, visibility was limited due to darkness, a low overcast cloud layer, and light rain showers. The crew reportedly abandoned the first landing attempt due to the weather conditions. While the crew was maneuvering for a second landing attempt on a different runway, the aircraft crashed into the Black Sea about 6 km (3.8 miles) from the airport. All eight crew members and 105 passengers were killed.
July 2007; TAM Linhas Aéreas A320-200; São Paulo, Brazil: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre (POA) to the Congohas Airport in São Paulo (CGH).
According to the airline, one of the two thrust reversers had been deactivated prior to the flight. The aircraft landed at a higher than normal speed and departed the runway. After the aircraft crossed a major road to the left of the runway, it crashed into a concrete building and caught fire. All six crew members and 181 passengers were killed, as well as several people on the ground. (Mindanao Examiner)
The plane, which came from Manila, overshot the runway at the Butuan City airport just short of a row of houses at around 6.07 a.m. There were no reports of serious injuries.
Witnesses said the plane landed in the middle of the runway and overshot the runway. “I saw it touched down in the middle of the runaway and the plane went straight and overshot the runway.”
“There were houses on the other end of the runway and it’s just lucky the plane stopped right in front of those houses,” one witness Israel Palero told the radio network dzRH by phone.
He said rescuers rushed some of the passengers to hospitals as smoke billows from inside the immobilized plane. “I saw liquid leaking from the plane. I saw the pilot and he appeared dazed and telling us to evacuate from the plane,” another witness said.
Rolly Estabillo, PAL spokesman, said there is an ongoing investigation into the accident.
“We are asking for apology. We don’t want this to happen. There is an investigation going on,” he said.
The weather was cloudy and windy in Butuan at the time of the accident. “There is low pressure in the area and it could be a factor in the accident. We really don’t know. Let’s wait for the outcome of the investigations,” Estabillo said.
He said the airline would shoulder all the hospital expenses of the passengers. “We are taking care of them,” he said.
PAL currently flies two aircrafts from Manila to Butuan City.
It was unknown whether the accident involving PAL’s A320 was the first in the Philippines, but there had been several accidents worldwide since 1988. Below were some of the recorded crashes involving A320 airplanes, according to the website airsafe.com
June 1988; Air France A320; near Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, France: The aircraft crashed into trees during an air show maneuver when the aircraft failed to gain height during a low pass with the gear extended. Three of the 136 passengers were killed.
February 1990; Indian Airlines A320; Bangalore, India: Controlled flight into terrain during approach. Aircraft hit about 400 meters short of the runway. Four of the seven crew members and 88 of the 139 passengers were killed.
January 1992; Air Inter A320; near Strasbourg, France: Aircraft had a controlled flight into terrain after the flight crew incorrectly set the flight management system. Five of the six crew and 82 of the 87 passengers perished.
September 1993; Lufthansa A320-200; Warsaw Airport, Poland: Aircraft landed with a tail wind. Landing performance and aircraft design led to a late deployment of braking devices. Aircraft overran the runway. One of the 6 crew and 1 of the 64 passengers were killed.
August 2000; Gulf Air A320; Near Manama, Bahrain: The aircraft was making a third attempt to land at the Bahrain International Airport after a flight from Cairo when the aircraft crashed into the sea about three miles (4.8 km) from the airport. All eight crew members and 135 passengers were killed.
May 2006; Armavia Airlines A320; near Sochi, Russia: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Yerevan, Armenia to Sochi. At the time of the crash, visibility was limited due to darkness, a low overcast cloud layer, and light rain showers. The crew reportedly abandoned the first landing attempt due to the weather conditions. While the crew was maneuvering for a second landing attempt on a different runway, the aircraft crashed into the Black Sea about 6 km (3.8 miles) from the airport. All eight crew members and 105 passengers were killed.
July 2007; TAM Linhas Aéreas A320-200; São Paulo, Brazil: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre (POA) to the Congohas Airport in São Paulo (CGH).
According to the airline, one of the two thrust reversers had been deactivated prior to the flight. The aircraft landed at a higher than normal speed and departed the runway. After the aircraft crossed a major road to the left of the runway, it crashed into a concrete building and caught fire. All six crew members and 181 passengers were killed, as well as several people on the ground. (Mindanao Examiner)
