THE board of inquiry of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is still trying to determine the cause of the glitch that forced a Gulf Air flight bound for Bahrain to return and make an emergency landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Friday.
The agency tapped members of its Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board to conduct the probe to determine the cause of the glitch Gulf Air flight GF 155, an Airbus 330 plane, which was carrying 207 passengers and 12 crew members.
The Manila International Airport Authority said the pilot of the twin-engine plane, who was identified only as Capt. Ra Beeh, requested an emergency landing clearance after its engine number one stalled while airborne shortly after it took off at 1:10 p.m.
The captain safely landed the plane at 1:31 p.m. at the Naia’s runway 24 where it was met and escorted by fire trucks and rescue personnel.
MIAA officials said as the twin-engine A330 jet lands safely, firemen trained their fire trucks mounted water hoses to the affected engine.
Aircraft technicians on the ground later speculated that high temperature might have caused the plane’s engine number one to burst and later stalled.
One of the passengers, identified as Floramina Munzon who was seating beside the left wing of the plane, said she heard something like an explosion after the plane lifted from the ground.
Another passenger, who refused to be identified, said that while the plane is gaining height the pilot announced that they are returning to Naia because of engine trouble while assuring passengers “not to worry because the situation is under control.” Joel E. Zurbano
Gulf Air personnel said their passengers were immediately booked in nearby hotels while the rest volunteered, especially Filipino passengers, to go home after they were issued boarding passes for the next available flight.
Few weeks ago, a Philippine Airlines flight bound for London made an emergency landing at the Naia shortly after a fire and smoke were detected.
PAL flight PR 720 bound for Heathrow Airport had just took off at about 1:59 p.m. with 170 passengers, including the flight crews, when the cockpit flight indicator detected fire and smoke in one of the landing gears.
This prompted the plane’s pilot to return and land the plane, an Airbus 340-300, after just 18 minutes in the air. The plane was advised by air traffic controllers to dock at bay 49 of Naia Terminal 2.