Nograles seeks probe on Cebu Pacific’s runway crash in Davao

Davao City Congressman Karlo Alexei Nograles called on a deeper legislative probe on the near-fatal disaster at the Davao City International Airport (DIA) when a Cebu Pacific plane carrying 165 passengers overshot the runway as he noted some lapses on the way airline crews handled such an emergency situation.

For one, Nograles said that when the plane skidded to a stop after overshooting the runway, the emergency exit doors were not opened immediately and flights crews, including the pilot, also went into panic instead of helping the passengers to calm down.

“ I’ve talked to one of the shaken passengers and he said that it took 10 minutes before the pilot said anything to the passengers after the plane crashed. That was also the only time when the emergency exit doors were opened. The passengers disembarked using the slide so they had to leave all their personal belongings behind. It was raining hard and they were very slow in transporting the passengers from the plane crash site to the airport,” Nograles said.

Nograles’ call for a probe came after Cebu Pacific Air flight 5J 971 (Manila-Davao) skidded-off the DIA runway during heavy downpour Sunday night.

Nograles said the passenger also told him that upon touchdown,he suspects that the plane landed not on the runway but on the ground so the pilot stepped hard in the brakes which is an indication that the pilot miscalculated his landing.

Even worse, Nograles said is the shabby treatment of the terrified passengers as they were not even given instructions on how and where to collect their luggage.

“ Upon arrival at the airport, the Cebu Pacific ground staff were very disorganized. They did not know what to do, no instructions were given to the passengers where to collect their belongings or where to claim their luggage etc. Up to now the passengers do not have their luggage yet,” Nograles said.

Nograles raised the need to call for an inquiry about the incident as it reflects the lack of training of Cebu Pacific’s personnel in handling emergency situations and might require a deeper review on the standards and qualifications of airline crews.

“In other words, Cebu pacific is not equipped to respond to emergency situations such as a plane crash. The in-flight crew should know how to handle actual emergency situations and not just good at making a demo during pre-flight procedures,” Nograles said.

Nograles also said the the inquiry should also tackle the various promotional campaigns of Cebu Pacific which often results to overbooking and most importantly,overworked pilots and in-flight crews.

“ Cebu Pacific is endangering the safety of their passengers because they practically turned their airline company into a sari-sari store. With so many flights to cover, their pilots and in-flight crews could hardly take a rest.That is definitely an invitation to disaster,” Nograles said.

“Isn’t it that Cebu Pacific is operating under a congressional franchise for a service? If so, they are under-delivering to a criminal and negligent manner?” he asked