Accra, Aug.17, (DPA/GNA) – A Chinese
commercial plane skidded off the main runway of the Philippines’ main
international airport amid heavy rains, causing massive flight disruptions that
affected thousands on Friday, officials said.
At least 69 domestic and international flights
were cancelled, while 12 were diverted after authorities were forced to
temporarily close the main runway of Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International
Airport due to the accident.
A Xiamen Airlines Boeing 737 overshot the
airport’s main runway as it was landing at almost midnight on Thursday (1600
GMT Thursday), ending up on its belly in a grassy area near the perimeter
fence. One of the plane’s engines and a wheel were ripped off.
All 157 passengers and eight crew members were
evacuated from the aircraft safely, said Ed Monreal, general manager of the
Manila International Airport Authority.
The jet had “misapproached” on its first
attempt to land and lost contact with the airport control tower on the second
try, Monreal said.
“Our priority now is to reopen the airport
runway immediately, but we are not rushing because we value the safety and
security of all the people,” he told reporters.
Monreal said the airport authority hired two
mobile cranes to lift the plane, which officials hope would be completed by 5
am on Saturday (2100 GMT Friday).
“We offer no excuses, just a promise to bring
flight operations back to normalcy by tomorrow using all our internal resources
and, if needed, employ outside resources notwithstanding the cost it will
entail,” he said.
The flight data recorder of the plane has been
recovered, but the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines does not have
the capability to extract its content and will have to send it to Singapore for
investigation.
Investigators were looking into various
factors, including weather, technology and communications between the pilot and
airport control tower, as possible causes of the accident.
GNA