Plane overshoots Masbate runway due to strong winds

03 January 2007
43 passengers, 4 crew shaken, but none hurt
By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY—DUE TO STRONG winds, an Asian Spirit plane overshot the runway and smashed the airstrip fence as it landed on the Masbate City airport Wednesday morning.

The plane’s 43 passengers, 7 of whom were children, and four flight crew members were shaken but none of them was reported injured, said airport manager Josefina Nuñez.

Nuñez said the airport’s communication facilities were functioning well, only that the winds were strong and beyond man’s control.

Air transportation officials have suspended all flights until the accident is completely investigated.

Nuñez said the Air Transportation Office (ATO) in Manila was sending an investigating team to the island to verify the cause of the accident and assess its damages.

She added, in a mobile phone interview, that a rescue equipment would also be sent from the ATO central office to clear the disabled aircraft.

The cost of damage had not yet been estimated but Nuñez said part of the runway fence was destroyed.

In a photo of the accident sent to the Inquirer, the plane’s right wing appears to have protruded to the national road behind the fence and almost hit side-street stores and houses.

Nuñez added that the aircraft’s right propeller, nozzle, right and nose wheels were destroyed.

The plane is a YS-11 type of aircraft, which can carry 64 passengers, and is about 26 meters long and 9 meters high with a wingspan of 32 meters running at a cruise speed of 454 kilometers per hour.

The Asian Spirit is an airline operating domestic and international tourist services linking Manila and Cebu with 24 domestic destinations in support of the trunk route of other airlines.