Pilots saw nothing wrong with NAIA runway before Xiamen Air mishap —CAAP

No pilot reported any runway abnormality before a Xiamen Airlines flight skidded off the runway a few minutes before midnight on Thursday last week, a Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines official said on Monday.

The incident caused the runway to be closed from the time of the incident up to late Saturday morning.

"Prior to the Xiamen incident, there was no pilot reports, no reports were submitted by the pilots who utilized the runway prior to Xiamen Airlines," supervising air traffic controller Marlene Singson said at a press briefing.

"So usually po kasi pi-reps can come in different forms, it could be weather issue, winds, cockpit visibility, ganon po pero wala po," she added.

"'Yung sinasabi niyo po ang tubig na tinatawag namin standing water, wala pong report na standing water... Wala pong report na ganon doon sa mga naunang gumamit ng runway," Singson said.

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal said that the MIAA also did not receive any report of any problem with the NAIA runway.

"The occurrence of water, may mga feedback mechanism ho 'yan. Ang mga piloto pag ho gumamit ng runway, may nakita ho silang mga ganong bagay, nirereport ho 'yan sa tower. At that point in time, prior to that incident, wala hong reported abnormalities sa ating runway," Monreal said.

In a separate press statement, CAAP assured the public that it was working the with MIAA, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and airline companies in order to ensure that the incident will not happen again.

It also noted that investigation on the concerned Xiamen Air pilots is still ongoing, but the agency has clarified that the two pilots, a Korean and Chinese nationals, have tested negative for illegal drugs.

"Both pilot sustained no injuries however, they were required to undergo medical examination by CAAP. The result of drug test is negative, for alcohol we still wait and as we speak there is an ongoing investigation for the pilots and cabin crew," CAAP deputy director for general operations Don Mendoza said.

Xiamen Air Flight MF8667 skidded off Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) runway late Thursday night. No injuries were reported in the incident, but the mishap resulted in the cancellation and diversion of a number of flights.

The plane was lifted from the runway around 2 a.m. on Saturday and was transferred to Balabag Aviation Complex.

The MIAA previously said that more than 600 flights have already flown into and out of the NAIA since the re-opening of its runway before Saturday noon.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has apologized for the incident. —Anna Felicia Bajo/NB, GMA News