Pilot in Robredo plane crash 'did everything he could' — Aviatour director

While it was found that pilot error led to the August 18 plane crash that killed then-Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and two others, the director of the flight school and taxi service that operated the ill-fated Piper Seneca plane said the pilot did everything he could to avoid the crash.

 

"Most pilots, including myself, will be able to say that the pilot concerned, Capt. [Jessup] Bahinting, really did try his best. Because who would like to have an accident? Who would like to die?" Capt. Antonio Juriedini, director of Aviatour Flight School, said in an interview on GMA News' 24 Oras aired Tuesday.   

 

Bahinting, who is considered a local hero in Cebu, once flew to Camiguin to find anti-venom for a zoo employee who was bitten by a cobra. However, the results of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) investigation blamed the crash to Bahinting and his company, GMA News' Lia Mañalac del Castillo siad in her report.

 

Bahinting, who owned Aviatour, had no experience flying a one-engine inoperative emergency, nor was he familiar with the flight route to Masbate at all, President Benigno Aquino III said on Tuesday. “Bagaman marami ang nagsabing ekspertong piloto si Captain Jessup M. Bahinting, wala siyang angkop na karanasan at kasanayan sa one-engine inoperative emergency. Malinaw ito nang nabigo niyang panatilihin ang ligtas na paglipad ng eroplano nang iisang makina na lamang ang gumagana,” the President said. 'One engine inoperative emergencies'

 

Aircraft Accident Inquiry and Investigation Board head Capt. Amado Soliman revealed that prior to the flight, there was no pre-flight briefing conducted for the passengers, and that Bahinting’s latest license renewal did not cover “one engine inoperative emergencies,” the very problem encountered by the Seneca plane.

 

Juriedini did not specifically say whether Bahinting could have flown the plane with only one working engine, the 24 Oras report said. "Well, I would say maybe or maybe not. You know why? Ang mga piloto on a multi-engine airplane always receive training on how to fly it on one engine," Juriedini said.

 

He also said that Aviatour's mechanics are only authorized to conduct preventive maintenance on the planes. "Preventive maintenance lang ang ginagawa nila. They are not supposed to open the engine. They are not authorized to do that," he said.

 

Juriedini did not address allegations of a collusion between Aviatour and several CAAP officials in relation to the company's application for an Airworthiness Certificate that allowed it to fly after the right-hand engine propeller of the crashed Piper Seneca was replaced in November 2011.

 

In an earlier report, Soliman said an Aviatour pilot confessed to falsifying a document that led to the approval of the company’s Airworthiness Certificate.

 

“Captain Federico A. Omolon III, Aviatour Flight Instructor and supposed pilot of the test flight testified that Captain Jessup Bahinting, Owner of Aviatour's and pilot of the fatal Seneca flight asked him to sign the Flight Test Report even though he did not fly the plane,” he said.

 

GMA News is still trying to get a statement from Bahinting's family on the results of the CAAP investigation. Meanwhile, Robredo's wife, Leni, said she blamed no one for her husband's death. "Ayoko na din kasing balikan yung mga negatibo. Wala naman kaming sama ng loob na itinatago," said Robredo, who hoped the investigation would pave the way for an improvement in government regulations and safety of airplane passengers. "Sana 'yung lahat na nangyari maging aral na lang para sa ating lahat. Salamat na lang at tapos na," she said on 24 Oras. 

 

Meanwhile, Senior Inspector June Abrazado, Robredo's aide and the sole survivor of the crash, declined to give a statement. The CAAP investigation revealed that Abrazado had nothing to do with the incident, the 24 Oras report said. — Carmela G. Lapeña/RSJ, GMA News