Gokongwei apologizes for mishap

Cebu Pacific CEO Lance Gokongwei apologized yesterday for what he described as a “most unfortunate” plane accident at the Davao City International Airport ( DIA), and said he expected the runway to be cleared today.

“We have a team that knows how to handle planes,” Gokongwei told ANC in an interview last night. “In this situation, we may not have handled all issues perfectly, but we can learn from this experience.”

He said he thought the crew of the ill- fated Cebu Pacific flight 5J-971 “did their best.”

“I’d like to congratulate the professionalism of our crew on board, with all the passengesrs safe,” Gokongwei said.

He noted that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the accident.

“We have to find out more and we’ll try to get in touch with all our disrupted passengers,” Gokongwei said.

Sara hits DIA

In Davao City, Mayor Sara Duterte said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) should make heads roll at the DIA following the accident Sunday night involving a Cebu Pacific flight from Manila.

“The emergency showed how poorly managed DIA is,” Duterte said as she lamented that the airport had no contingency plans in place.

She vowed to file a coma plaint with the CAAP in Manila against the DIA management led by area manager Frederick San Felix, “to put on record their non-existent emergency plan.”

City authorities lamented that the 165 passengers of Cebu Pacific Flight 5J971 were not attended to properly by DIA personnel after disembarkation.

The Airbus A320 plane had skidded as it landed in heavy rain at the airport, veering right and slowing to a stop beyond the runway. All passengers and crew were unhurt, but some complained that no one at the airport checked if any passenger needed medical attention.

Davao officials said the city has over two dozen ambulances, but DIA authorities barred their entry into the airport.