Zest Air seems to have a lot of trouble dealing with the airport at Caticlan.
Last week, a Zest Airways Xian MA-60 (RP-C8892) with 54 passengers overshot the runway, in a repeat of a similar, more damaging overshoot earlier this year. Unlike the previous incident where 3 of the 25 passengers were injured, no one was hurt . The incident, however, raises serious questions on the safety of the plane Zest Air uses, the airport in question, and the pilots involved in the crash.
The Xian MA-60s used by Zest Airways, a Chinese manufactured copy of the Russian Antonov An-26, a military light transport. Five of these aircraft were delivered in October 2008, and Zest Air placed an additional order of 6 planes last May. With the planes practically brand new (2 and 6 months old, respectively), and with neither Cebu Pacific nor PAL Express suffering similar problems with their comparable aircraft (using the ATR-72 and Bombardier Dash 8, respectively), questions are raised about the safety record of the plane itself.
A check with AviationSafety.Net reveals only 2 incidents with the Xian MA-60, excluding the latest incident but including the incident at Caticlan last January (the page lists 9 incidents including those for the older Xian Y-7, upon which the MA-60 was based). The first incident was with an Air Zimbabwe domestic flight in January 2008, caused by pilot error.
It is then difficult to determine whether the plane’s build quality could be questioned, but having had ridden one in a flight to Busuanga earlier this year, the Xian MA-60 has a peculiarity that I hadn’t noticed when I rode the ATR-72: it brakes really hard. This becomes important when considering that Godofredo P. Ramos Airport at Caticlan has a runway length of only 810 meters.
The length of the runway makes for very harrowing landings, as illustrated by various photos of approaches at the Caticlan airport. On one end of the runway, about 30 meters from its edge is a road (as seen in the crash photo above) frequented by tricycles and jeepneys. On the other end of the runway is a hill. There have been efforts to try and lengthen this runway, unfortunately, thwarted by "political wrangling at the local level":
Local air carriers have long requested the [Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines] that the runway be lengthened either by extending Runway 06 to the sea or removing a hill at the end of Runway 24.
However the CAAP was not able to carry out the runway improvements because of political wrangling at the local level. [BusinessMirror]
A third angle is, of course, pilot error. In the January incident, the pilot of RP-C8893 undershot the runway and hit the perimeter fence of the runway (clearly visible in the photos shown). In this latest incident, the pilot overshot the runway, after requesting to land despite having a tail wind:
Initial investigation showed that when he asked for landing instructions, the pilot, Capt. Bernard Hervoso, was directed to Runway 06, the “active” runway at the time. However, it was reported that Hervoso requested to use Runway 24 instead.
The request was granted, although it would mean that the airplane would be landing with a tailwind.
Investigators are now verifying eyewitnesses reports that the plane landed almost at the middle of [the] runway. [BusinessMirror]
Only after a full investigation will we be able to get all the facts straight, and determine whether the crash was caused by human error or by safety deficiencies in the aircraft. Considering that there are more than 30 flights in and out of the Godofredo Ramos Airport everyday — being the gateway of Boracay (it is, in fact, the third busiest airport in Western Visayas) — the best long term solution would be to lengthen the runway once and for all. Only then will margins of error for the pilots be large enough to cancel out problems with braking, late touchdowns, or clearing perimeter fences.
We only hope that the government of the Municipality of Malay would care.
Photo of engine nacelle and propeller copyright the author, all rights reserved. Photo of Zest Airways RP-C8892 and Cebu Pacific RP-C7250 before touchdown at Godofredo P. Ramos Airport by Ryan Hemmings via Airliners.Net. Photo of RP-C8892 crashed in ditch by user MapLand of 101today.com/travel.
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Early 2008 had news to extend the Caticlan runway from 950 meters to 2,100 meters, to meet international standards.
Airport near Boracay up for P2.5-b expansion
The National Economic and Development Authority’s Investment Coordination Committee has endorsed an unsolicited proposal from a private contractor to expand the Caticlan airport in Malay, Aklan, by reclaiming a part of the Sibuyan Sea.
See Jan-2008 news item.
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics6_jan22_2008
nyek. jan 2008 — wala pa rin…
Those low-flying photos remind me of these:
http://www.billzilla.org/low747.jpg
http://www.guy-sports.com/fun_pictures/low_flying_air_france.jpg
Yep. The tiny island nation of Saint Maarten has the same challenge; it’s a paradise but has hardly any land for airports.
With the seas rising, all these airfields by the bay will be underwater in 50 years anyway. Build a new airport on a nearby hill, methinks.
I flew into Tacloban (which my western brain keeps pronouncint Toboclan, to the amusement of the airport people). They are already starting on little walls, but I fear they will not keep pace with the sea.
Joe
That is a very good point, JoeAmerica.
Manhattan/New York City has started its decades-long project against floods and seawater rise from global warming. Already, Manhattan pump motors and circuit breakers (for the sewage/water draining pumps) are being moved up by over 10 meters (to 14 feet above sea level from 25 feet below sea level). The city also plans to build up seawalls and take other steps to update its aging infrastructure.
Oh my gosh – newest planes already has problems – thats not good.
apprantly there has been lots malfunctional problems on variety of planes across the world. Really Scary.
Fly with risks. Buying a lower cost plane for the sake of
economy at the expense of safety.
Thanks for this, Jon. Thanks, indeed.
We’d planning a post summer weekend trip to Paradise. Postponing.
We’ll go back to safer Cebu instead.
You could easily book a trip via Kalibo. Ride a larger plane, bus your way to Caticlan instead. But it takes around 2 hours, unfortunately.
Thanks for the tip, Jon. :)
Ding,
I have a place on the beach in Mindanao I will rent to you, real cheap. Just ignore the NPR guys plodding through now and then. They are looking for the white guy who owns the place.
Joe
Might take you up on that joe :)
Where in Minda?
Outside of Gingoog City, but the situation truly is a tad dangerous. Troops all over the place, I am told. So I would not rent at this time. Too much responsibility.
I personally like the Mangangale Beach Resort a couple hours east out of CDO. Nice facilities, great for short stay. Camigian is a boat ride away.
Joe
Camiguin is awesome. The coral reefs and clam farm there are breathtaking, to say the least!
Not limited to small or poor countries – before Hong Kong built Chep Lap Kok, there was Kai Tak. You can watch landings there on YouTube! I only got to land there once, shortly before it closed.
Indeed, but that’s an altogether more complicated problem — which is already solved.
This is a much simpler problem, with a very simple solution, that nobody has the political will to implement.
When customer’s safety and security are a concern, private entities in the hotel and hospitality industries should be apprehensive. Its revenues from taxation can be allocated to improve infrastructure. This will put more pressure on local authorities to get zoning, engineering and other experts in this field to get their acts together. When public and private entities do not work together, it will drive customers away. The results are lost of profits and revenues for both local government and private entities . The potential employment through improving infrastructure is an approach to enhance the local livelihood of the people. The governing bodies should look into this issue ASAP. walang sitting pretty..
Regarding China Zest Air, I suspect the company has not gained its brand recognition yet in terms of its quality. Time cannot verify that it is reliable in comparison to the other recognized airline manufacturer of so many many years. It may be another fake plane flying over the beautiful islands of the Philippines. There is perhaps no barrier to entry in the air transportation industry.
loss of profits pala.. LOL :)
There’s no such thing as a “barrier to entry” when it comes to the Chinese.
The MA-60, however, is a licensed copy from the Russian Antonov. I do not think having the original Russian An-26 would have mattered.
Jon,
The barrier to entry was an opportunity for new business entity to compete with Zest Air. The more airliners competing against each other will benefit passengers as price tickets are pushed to lower according to demand. What i meant is , there perhaps a niche of opening a new airline business in the Philippines. Not sure how many companies offering inter-islands flight but those who can provide consistent safety may have an opportunity to expand especially if quality and customer satisfaction are its vision.
If Zest Air continue to provide unsecured landings then this may not be an airline manufacturing issue but a pilot issue too.
as gabbyd said: “if its the 2nd most busy, and there have been 2 accidents, no fatalities, then its not really that dangerous”
But yes you are right regarding ” no barrier to entry” when it comes to the Chinese.
great blog BTW.
I have never taken a plane to Caticlan. The airport is supposed to be the 2nd most busy in the country. If they can’t find a safer site for an airport, then Boracay should be billed as a more laid back destination in which getting there by BOAT is best. Boats have less carbon footprint or is it wakes!
An 810 meter runway may need arresting wires!
And speaking of boats, one can get to Boracay via the exciting Batangas to Romblon route. take a boat from Looc, Tablas to Boracay. exciting!
if its the 2nd most busy, and there have been 2 accidents, no fatalities, then its not really that dangerous.
its a easy fix, just lengthen the damn thing.
Carabao Island is the site of the proposed international airport
puwede bang magcontribute ng travel blog entry. going to pinatubo soon
If the information on this website
http://www.deagel.com/Turboprop-Airliners/MA60_a001816001.aspx
is correct, the Xian MA-60 has a landing run of 1,060 meters. Obviously, 810 doesn’t quite cut it, especially with a tailwind. I would think a huge set of tight brakes would be a tremendous asset, in those circumstances. The AN-26, by comparison, is rated for a 730 meter landing distance — tight, but with a good pilot and clean approach, no problem. And in general, Russian planes of any manufacturer are robustly built, given the usually crappy condition of the airports they use in Russia. So it looks like there are two problems here: first, the design didn’t translate so well into Chinese, and second, ZestAir probably suffers the typical talent handicap of new, low-cost airlines in that all the better pilots are flying for someone else.
Certainly, it makes all kinds of sense that there should be a better airport serving Boracay. But on the other hand, when only one airline and one kind of plane has had a problem at the existing one, that sort of seems to narrow things down a bit.