Cebu Pacific: Pilot in Davao plane mishap a veteran by CAAP's standards

A Cebu Pacific spokesperson on Wednesday said the captain of flight 5J 971 that swerved off a runway at the Davao International Airport is a veteran pilot by Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines standards.

“Kapitan yung naglanding ng eroplano at kung tatanungin mo rin naman ang CAAP, sila rin naman [ay] nagsasabi na ang number of hours flown ng kapitan namin would make him a veteran pilot...,” Candice Iyog told "Unang Balita" host Arnold Clavio in an interview on Wednesday morning.

Iyog also said the pilot, who she did not identify during the interview, has been with the Cebu Pacific for a long time.

Flight 5J 971 got stuck on the grassy part off the runway Sunday night, crippling operations at the Davao international Airport for two days.

Some passengers claimed they observed the pilot was uneasy as he went to the restroom four times during the flight and even asked for coffee. Some passengers even suspected he was drunk.

But Iyog said the management has not talked to the pilot yet about the passengers' claims, but already read his narrative report on the incident.

She declined to comment on what possible sanctions the pilot faces, but said an investigation is ongoing. However, the CAAP earlier said the pilot is grounded.

'Delayed response'

Iyog denied claims the cabin crew failed to respond at once to the "emergency situation."

Some passengers said that while everyone was in panic and wanted to disembark the plane, the flight crew did not react for about 15 minutes.

But Iyog said the crew did not think they were in an emergency situation. “Hindi siya kinonsider na emergency situation dahil nung tinignan [ng pilot] 'yung sa labas wala namang engine na nasusunog.”

However, the engines were turned off by the captain as per procedure so the crew wasn't able to use their public address system, but they were in control of the situatio, she added.

“Meron silang megaphone at yun ang ginagamit nila sa pag-address sa pasahero pero naintindihan naman natin na magulo at may mga nagpa-panic din at siguro hindi sila marinig sa likod,” Iyog said.

Iyog thanked a passenger identified only as “Captain Bok” who was said to have helped in calming passengers.

As to a complaint there was no ground crew when the passengers unboarded, Iyog said
the flight crew tried their best to request for ground crew from the airport.

“Yung ground crew nasa airport naman sila. Tumawag sila nang tulong. Fire and rescue [unit], 'yun ang medyo natagalan,” Iyog said, adding “Gusto man nila magpapasok ng sasakyan para sunduin yung mga pasahero sa eroplano hindi naman sila napahintulutan.

“Kasi kailangan humingi ng permiso doon. Wala kasi tayong control hindi tayo basta-basta puwede lumapit sa eroplano,” Iyog said.

Also, she said, “Humihingi kami ng paumanhin sa nangyari and now that natanggal na siya [ang airplane] nagpapasalamat kami sa authorities sa pagtulong din sa madaling pagtanggal ng eroplano.”

Saying an apology is not enough, the affected passengers have organized themselves and said on Wednesday they are determined to take their case to court.

However, Iyog said the Cebu Pacific management  is ready to address the passengers' complaints, adding that it already contacted them for possible assistance the airline can extend. — LBG, GMA News