CAAP suspends charter airline that flew Robredo

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Wednesday suspended the license of Aviatour Air Inc., the charter airline which owns the Piper Seneca that crashed off Masbate last Saturday carrying Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and three others.  

 

“According to CAAP director general William Hotchkiss, sinuspinde na nila lahat ang aircraft ng Aviatour to give way to the investigation,” Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) spokesperson Nic Conti told GMA News Online in a phone interview  Wednesday.

 

A DOTC agency, CAAP enforces policies on civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents.

 

Aviatour chairman and CEO Jessup Bahinting was Robredo’s pilot when the accident happened. His Nepali co-pilot Kshitiz Chand and Robredo’s aide Senior Inspector Jun Abrasado were also with them, but only Abrasado survived the fatal crash.

 

Apart from on-site investigation, CAAP will focus on determining Aviatour's “… air worthiness and safety management system,” Conti noted.

 

“Hindi lang ang mga chartered planes ang sinuspinde pati ang flying school ng kumpanya ay suspendido rin,” he said.

 

CAAP Air Accident Investigation Board head, Capt. Amado Soliman, will be spearheading the probe, Conti added.

 

Apart from chartered flights Aviatours trains professional pilots, sells aircraft, and offers maintenance services.

 

Robredo’s body was retrieved by professional divers Tuesday morning. He was 54. 

Authorities are still trying to retrieve the pilots' remains as of this posting. 

 

Not the first for Aviatour

 

Saturday’s crash was not the first for Mactan-based Aviatour. 

 

Last March, two people – including the pilot and a Norwegian passenger – died after Aviatour’s four-seater Cessna 172 crashed in Mambajao, Camiguin. 

 

Aviatour’s flying school was then slapped with a preventive suspension, but authorities subsequently lifted it.

 

Investigation into the Camiguin plane crash is still ongoing, DOTC’s Conti said. — VS, GMA News