Cebu Pacific pilots, crew investigated in crash at Philippines' Davao airport
Staff of Philippine budget carrier accused of incompetence after delay in evacuating aircraft
Philippine aviation authorities said yesterday they were investigating Cebu Pacific pilots and crew who waited 15 minutes before deploying emergency slides to evacuate passengers from a plane that overshot the runway and landed on its nose at Davao.
None of the 165 passengers was injured, but some complained about the lengthy delay in attempting to get them off the crippled plane. One critic blamed an inept crew who "froze" during the emergency.
Your personnel lack training for an emergency situation ... They did not know what to do
The rough landing in stormy weather on Sunday evening forced the closure of Davao International Airport, in the southern Philippines, while the Airbus A320-200 remained stuck on the runway. The Civil Aviation Authority's deputy director-general, John Andrews, said pilot error probably caused the accident.
"Everyone panicked. Women and children were screaming," passenger Percival Jacones told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He said the cabin crew were stunned and it was 15 minutes before the captain came out of the cockpit to address the passengers.
Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said airport management was late in alerting city emergency services about the landing and denied quick access to the passengers. She said an airport security guard phoned 911 to report the accident. Andrews said the pilots and cabin crew had been grounded pending the results of the aviation authority's investigation. He said the pilots violated the standard operating procedure by not ordering an immediate evacuation of the aircraft.
Cebu Pacific president Lance Gokongwei apologised, but also defended the crew's action.