Ecrasement d'un DC 3 aux Philippines

Vu sur crashaerien :

Manille (Philippines) -
Un avion d'une compagnie aérienne locale philippie Victoria Air s'est écrasé sur une quinzaine de maisons de la banlieue de Manille (Philippines), faisant quatre victimes, alors que son pilote tentait de faire demi-tour et de se reposer en urgence.

L'avion, un bimoteur Douglas DC3, en version cargo, immatriculé semble-t-il RPC-550, qui venait de décoller de l'aéroport international de Manille à destination de l'aéroport régional de Puerto Princesa (Philippines), dans la province de Palawan, avec semble-t-il sept personnes à bord dont le pilote, avait décollé depuis quelques minutes lorsque le pilote a demandé à faire demi-tour afin de se reposer en urgence, suite à des problèmes techniques dont la nature n'est pas connue.

L'avion a alors perdu de l'altitude et a heurté le toit de plusieurs maisons qu'il a arraché avant de s'écraser au sol. Il y aurait quatre victimes, sans que l'on sache encore si ces personnes faisaient partie des personnes à bord ou au sol.

Les témoignages parlent d'un appareil qui aurait penché de droite et de gauche avant de s'écraser, comme si le pilote avait eu du mal à le contrôler.
Les sauveteurs n'ont découvert que quatre corps pour le moment, les pompiers luttant toujours contre l'incendie provoqué par le carburant lors du crash. L'appareil s'est écrasé dans un entrepot abandonné auquel il a mis le feu.

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Yahoo news, extrait :

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Investigators are looking at the possibility that the ill-fated DC-3 plane crashed into a Las Piñas subdivision
Saturday due to an engine trouble.


Four people on board were burned to death after the World War II vintage plane slammed into an "abandoned" warehouse in E. Aldana village on Saturday noon.

Investigators also later found out that the light aircraft, the type used by the Philippine Air Force, was currently the subject of an investigation for a previous incident at Ninoy Aquino International Airport runway.

Amado Soliman, chairman of the Air Safety Foundation of the Philippines, revealed that the pilot of the light craft that was bound for Palawan for a test flight was still able to communicate with a Manila control tower before the crash...


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Du newsinquirer :


MANILA, Philippines

-- The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said engine trouble was the reason for the crash of a small cargo plane in Las Piñas City, on Saturday, which killed four passengers.

CAAP director-general Ruben Ciron cited the last communication between the Manila air control tower and two pilots, which reported engine failure and advised the control tower of their intention to go back to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

All radio contact with the plane was lost at around 11:56 a.m. It was believed to have crashed between noon and 12:15 p.m. on an abandoned warehouse in Villa Fidela subdivision, Barangay (village) Aldana, Las Piñas.

Ciron said the pilot did not request ground assistance although the Runway 6 was opened for the expected
emergency landing.

“The plane was observed by the tower approaching the airport already and it was continuously descending at very low level until they (air traffic controllers) saw billows of smoke at the vicinity of the crash site,” Ciron told reporters.

He added that the two-propeller plane, a DC-3 aircraft owned by Victoria Asia Air Services Inc. with tail number RPC 550, had a valid “certificate of air-worthiness,” having passed routine inspections by the CAAP.

“It would not be allowed to fly if it was not air-worthy,” he said, adding that it would be up to the CAAP’s Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AIIB) to come out with a report on the nature and cause of the crash.

MIAA assistant general general manager Angel Atutubo identified the fatalities as the pilot, Capt. Benjamin Rivera; his co-pilot Benjamin Baculpo; flight mechanic Richard Gidaya; and crew member Jaguar Juane, a relative of Victoria owner Jerson Juane.

According to CAAP deputy director Ed Kapunan, the plane hires out it services in transporting goods throughout the country. He said the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] manifest did not contain any detail on whether the plane was carrying any cargo.

Kapunan said the plane, manufactured by Douglas Co., was used by the United States air forces during World War II.

“It’s really a World War II vintage aircraft but it’s one of the best designed aircraft by the Americans. So it’s really an old plane,” he said.

The Manila International Airport Authority, which runs NAIA, said the plane was on a flight bound to Palawan when it crashed.

The MIAA’s emergency and rescue services sped to the crash site to put out the fire and rescue casualties.

The airport police are investigating claims by the plane owner, Juane, that the flight was unauthorized.

AIIB board member Amado Soliman, chair of the Air Safety Foundation of the Philippines, recalled that the same plane developed problems in its hydraulic system when it landed at NAIA from Bacolod City about a month ago.

“The aircraft lost its brakes and had to be towed from the runway,” he recalled, adding that it has not wrapped up its investigation of the incident.

He also said his initial take on the cause of the crash, based on his observations of the debris at the crash site rite, was engine trouble.

“The mere fact that he was trying to come back and cannot gain altitude and ended up crashing is indicative of that (engine failure]. We have to find out and establish why,” he explained.

Soliman also said the inquiry would focus on why there appeared to be six empty drums of aviation fuel on board the plane.

“Carrying fuel inside the plane for your return flight is against regulations,” he said, adding that the fire that burned more than a dozen houses in Villa Fidela could have originated from the fuel.

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