Tragic accident
The Dela Rosa family was having a quiet lunch when tragedy struck. A Piper six-seater aircraft crashed into their house shortly after taking off from the Plaridel Airport. Five family members died, while five passengers from the plane also perished. Some were also injured on the ground as a fire broke out as a result of the crash. The aircraft was fully fueled for the trip to Laoag, Ilocos Norte. The plane apparently hit power lines before crashing, indicating it could not have properly ascended after taking off. The accident is now under investigation. Other Lite Air Express aircraft have been grounded while the investigation into the incident is under way.
I remember when an Aerolift aircraft crashed into our neighbor's house in Merville in 1990. The accident happened early in the morning. We heard a loud crash and felt the ground shake, as the airplane fell onto the house beside us, where a Japanese family slept. Twenty-one passengers from the plane died, while four family members were killed. I recall that the only survivors from the house were a household help and a dog. I won't forget what I saw when we climbed on top of the roof of our house. The tail section of the plane was sticking out of the ruins, with charred bodies all over the place, some still strapped to their seats. Not a sight I would have wanted to see.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Philippines (CAAP) has long stressed the need for open spaces and clearings near and around the country's main airports. Several crashes have occurred in populated areas. Accidents highlight the CAAP's point. In 2011, an airplane crashed into a community of informal settlers in Parañaque. All passengers of the aircraft died, while others were killed on the ground, including some children. A pilot died in a private plane crash in Merville in 2007. It may be difficult for the CAAP to implement such a requirement. It's not easy to uproot whole communities, never mind considering the politics behind something like this.
For years, transferring the airport has always been floated, but never really implemented. The Clark International Airport is now operational, but the distance from Metro Manila is still an issue. Making the trip by car is not something passengers are willing to make, considering the traffic that one may encounter. The building of a fast train to and from Clark has been fraught with corruption, causing the project to be shelved. If only we had such a system in place, the distance to Clark would not be an issue.
Nobody wants accidents like these, but they do happen. Such are the dangers of living near an airport. With the relocation of both communities and airports out of the question, we can only hope that pilots are always careful, always at the top of their game, and their aircraft always in tiptop condition. The constant maintenance of aircraft cannot be overstressed. Vehicles and boats may just stop when something is wrong, while an aircraft does not have that luxury. Defying gravity alone is already a risk.
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