PAF plane suffers flat tire, blocks NAIA runway

MANILA, Philippines - A Philippine Air Force (PAF) Fokker 27 plane suffered a flat tire while preparing for takeoff at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), blocking the runway yesterday morning and causing the delay of a commercial flight to Cebu.

Airport sources said military personnel who were scheduled to assess the Landingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro City were on board the Fokker 27 when the aircraft suffered a flat tire before 6 a.m.

The Fokker was towed to the presidential hangar inside Villamor Air Base for inspection.

The runway was cleared at around 6:25 a.m.

Philippine Airlines flight PR 843 that was scheduled to depart at around 6 a.m. was delayed due to the incident. The PAL plane departed 17 minutes late.

Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol, PAF spokesman, said the incident did not cause major delays of commercial flights after Air Force maintenance personnel immediately removed the military plane from Runway 06.

“The aircraft encountered a flat tire. So the pilot as per procedure shut down the engine and then the maintenance personnel replaced the tire and it was towed back to the hangar. The aircraft is still in perfect condition,” Okol said, adding that an investigation surrounding the glitch is being conducted.

The F-27 twin turbo-prop aircraft is part of the PAF’s 220th Airlift Wing.  – With Jaime Laude