CAAP: Human error likely in Cebu Pacific plane mishap in Davao

(Updated 3:24 p.m.) Authorities are looking at human error as the likely reason behind the emergency landing last Sunday of a Cebu Pacific aircraft which was still stuck on the runway on Tuesday, shutting down Davao International Airport, a major gateway to southern Philippines.

“Maaaring na-late ng pagliko [o] pagtuwid ng eroplano,” Rodante Joya, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), told GMA News Online by phone Tuesday.

Joya, a retired Philippine Air Force general, said emergency landings could also be caused by either technical problems or weather disturbances — although these were unlikely factors in what happened to Flight 5J-971 last Sunday.

“As of now wala tayong indication of engine problems,” Joya said, referring to Sunday's incident. He also dismissed the weather as the probable cause of the incident, even though it happened on a rainy day.

“Nag-report ng 'runway on sight' ang pilot [sa control tower],” Joya said, adding this means the pilot could see the runway despite the rain and would be able to perform a landing.

He said as of now, “all indications point to a human error factor" based on experts' analysis, although probers are not ruling out other reasons.

"Most unfortunate incident"

Cebu Pacific CEO Lance Gokonwei has apologized for the incident, calling it “most unfortunate.”

“I would like to personally apologize to all the passengers who were on the flight and all those who had their travel plans disrupted today because of the (situation in) Davao airport,” Gokongwei said in an interview on ANC News Channel Monday night.

Answering a complaint from Ateneo de Davao president Joel Tabora S.J. about the supposed "insensitivity and ineptness" of Cebu Pacific personnel during the incident, Gokongwei
said the crew followed procedures.

“I think they tried their best. Of course it was a very panicked situation. I'd like to actually congratulate the professionalism of our crew on board,” he said.

He said Cebu Pacific is coordinating closely with the CAAP accident investigation board to get to the bottom of the incident.

The incident is being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board, an independent body under the CAAP director general.

Evidence

Joya's statement that the incident may have stemmed from human error was echoed by CAAP deputy director general John Andrews at a press briefing Tuesday, where he said they  "have evidence of human error, maybe pilot error."

He noted the fact that a plane had landed properly moments before Flight 5J-971 skidded off the runway and into the grassy part of the airport, scattering debris along the way .

"The evidence does not lie," Andrews said.

Citing statements from affected passengers, Andrews said evacuation was done 15 minutes after the plane halted.

"The decision was made because they don’t think a danger is involved... There is nothing that would have prevented the engine at this time. The only procedure was to declare an evacuation but (it) wasn't done," he said.

Andrews said both engines of the plane were severely damaged, causing it to spew smoke. He said the plane is no longer "salvageable."

Joya, meanwhile, declined to give an estimated time of completion for the investigation, but said the time frame for releasing the results may be similar to the plane crash incident in August 2012 that killed Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.

He also said Flight 5J-971's data recorder—also known as the “black box”—has already been sent to Singapore for further investigation.

The black box contains vital information of the journey of a plane as it records communications between the pilot and the control tower as well as engine status indications.

No casualties

No casualties were reported in Sunday's incident. Flight 5J-971 had 165 passengers on board.

Joya credited the pilot for this despite the possibility that his error may have caused the emergency.

“The reason why the accident had no casualties is due to the decisiveness of the pilot in his actions,” he said.

Sanctions, however, still await the pilot in case the investigation showed that it was indeed human error that caused the incident, Joya pointed out.

The sanctions range from retraining to forfeiture of license. Cebu Pacific may also be penalized if management is proven to have been negligent about the pilot's health and sleeping hours.

The pilot has been temponrarily relieved of duty and is undergoing medical examinations to determine his health condition.

GMA News Online has been asking Cebu Pacific about the flying experience of the pilot in question, but the airline has yet to respond as of posting time.

Removal

Joya said there is a currently six-man Cebu Pacific retrieval team from Singapore trying to remove the damaged plane from the runway.

He said that by 2 p.m. Tuesday the CAAP will take over the moving effort if the retrieval team fails to remove the aircraft.

The plane has been there since Sunday and has caused numerous flights to be either canceled or rerouted.

Joya assured the plane will be removed within the day. — with Marc Jayson Cayabyab/KBK/HS, GMA News