Woman ATO trainee guided ill-fated Flight 541 -- solon

A relatively inexperienced woman air traffic control trainee was guiding Air Philippines Flight 541 moments before it crashed on Samal island in Davao, a Mindanao congressman told The STAR yesterday.

Rep. Prospero Pichay (Lakas, Surigao del Sur) said the woman trainee from the Air Transportation Office (ATO) cleared Flight 541 for landing but then told it to abort because a Philippine Airlines plane was still on the runway.

The trainee told Flight 541 to climb to 4,000 feet before making another landing attempt.

"The plane did not change to the required altitude and instead flew towards the other end of Runway 23 where it made a steep turn before it made a slip and crashed," Pichay said.

Pichay did not identify the trainee. He said he got his information from a pilot friend who was flying over Davao International Airport on April 19 at the time Flight 541 slammed into a coconut field in nearby Samal island, killing all 131 people on board.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday in Davao that only 80 percent of the victims of the crash could be identified through DNA testing.

NBI Forensic Division Unit chief Dr. Idabel Pagulayan said they could not guarantee a full accounting because most of the bodies were mangled and charred.

They have so far collected 75 DNA samples from the victims and 117 samples from the victims' relatives.

Yesterday, ATO chief Jacinto Ortega Jr. ordered three air traffic controllers who were on duty at the time to report to the ATO's Aircraft Accident Investigation Board, which is investigating the country's worst air disaster.

Ortega wants the three -- Simeon Valdez Jr., Ramir Pangilinan and Elizabeth Madriaga -- to shed light on Flight 541's last critical moments, especially the conversation between the Air Philippines pilot and the control tower.

Ortega said there were conflicting reports quoting unidentified ATO sources in Davao on the cause of the crash.

"We would know what actually transpired in the conversation between the pilot of the ill-fated Air Philippines plane and the control tower in Davao before the crash," Ortega said.

The three will not perform air traffic control work while the investigation is ongoing.

It is not certain if Madriaga was the trainee Pichay was talking about. Pichay said his friend knew the woman, monitored the conversation between Flight 541 and the ATO trainee, and has agreed to testify if the House conducts an inquiry.

Pichay and Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri (Lakas, Bukidnon) filed separate resolutions asking the House to conduct its own investigation into the crash.

They blame the ATO for the crash, with Zubiri calling for Ortega's resignation. "Some heads must roll. We cannot wait for more lives to perish before the ATO can get its act together," he said.

Pichay said a House investigation is necessary because "the facts do not simply jibe with the version put forward by the ATO."

He said the Davao crash "begs several questions on procedural matters, particularly on air traffic control and aircraft maintenance; on human error, that of air traffic controllers and pilots; on search and rescue operations; and on air transportation safety and related issues."

The ATO initially said the crash was caused by pilot error. According to them, Flight 541 flew too low. The plane's voice and flight data recorders are in the United States for analysis.

At the Senate, Sen. Ramon Revilla sought an inquiry to determine the airworthiness of Boeing 737-200s. The Air Philippines plane that crashed was a 737-200. -- With Perseus Echeminada, Non Alquitran