CebuPac pilots in NAIA mishap grounded, Palace says

MANILA, Philippines - The pilots of the Cebu Pacific aircraft that skidded off and damaged runway lights of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have been grounded, a Palace official said on Friday.

 

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that according to Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General William Hotchkiss III, the pilots of the Cebu Pacific plane have been automatically grounded subject to the medical exam.

 

"The incident will be submitted to the Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board and to the Flights Standards Inspectorate Service. Additionally, the aircraft itself will be subject to a thorough maintenance inspection. So we should wait for the results of that,” Valte said.

 

She added that the CAAP has initiated an investigation on the incident.

 

Flight 5J-558 from Iloilo sideswiped the runway lighting at the NAIA Terminal 3 on Thursday afternoon after reportedly encountering a strong crosswind. 

 

No passengers were injured in the incident, but the plane damaged five lights along Runway 6 of the airport.

 

Related story: Another Cebu Pacific flight makes bad landing

 

Nearly two weeks ago, another aircraft of the airline company veered off the runway of the Davao International Airport and nose-dived into a ditch.

 

The plane was stalled in the airport's runway for two days, disrupting flight schedules and causing a loss of about P250 million in the local economy.