WHY WERE THERE NO MASBATE AIRPORT PERSONNEL WHEN ROBREDO’S PLANE CRASHED?
Shortly before the Piper Seneca plane carrying Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and three others hit the sea, the pilots sent a distress call to Masbate airport requesting for an emergency landing, but there were no airline personnel in the control tower.
“Wala na kasing [tao]; hanggang alas-dos lang sila eh. Wala na. Uwian na,” said airport insider Alex (who refused to be named) in a report on GMA’s “24 Oras."
Beyond 2 pm, the airport’s runway turns into a public thoroughfare for tricycles and other vehicles, as the news report's video showed. Without personnel in the tower or on the tarmac to alert others, Robredo's plane could have collided with ground traffic if it attempted an emergency landing at the airport.
“Kulang na kulang ang tao, kahit sa loob ng opisina. Sa admin, kulang ang tao,” Alex added.
This has not always been the case. According to the exclusive report by GMA reporter John Consulta, the airport’s control tower used to be manned until 6 p.m.
The policy was changed in 2005. Airport personnel also began to dwindle.“Nabawasan na rin daw ang tao sa Masbate Airport. Mula sa dating tatlo, dalawa na lang tumatao sa control tower. Ang dating 15 katao naman na bumbubuo sa airport firefighting unit ngayon ay 9 na lang. Nagretiro na ang karamihan sa kanila ngayon,” Consulta reported.
28/08/2012 : GMA News.
No comments:
Post a Comment