Apology not enough; heads should roll over Naia runway mishap — Palace

Malacañang on Monday said “more than an apology” is needed from those responsible behind the ill-fated Xiamen Air Flight MF8667 that slid off the runway at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) last week.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured the public that those responsible for the incident would be held liable.

“It’s not just an apology that we will ask for. We’re now conducting an investigation if there’s any liability on the part of the Xiamen pilot. That’s why he has been asked not to leave the country. That’s part of an ongoing investigation,” Roque said in a Palace briefing.

“Hindi po dapat makalusot nang wala man lang apology pero tingin ko, it’s more than an apology because we’re now investigating if there’s any kind of liability that we can attribute to the pilot,” he added.

A Xiamen Air jet got stuck at Naia on Friday morning after it overshot at the runway in Naia, which stranded thousands of passengers at the country’s premier gateway.

The normal operations at Naia finally resumed at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, 36 hours after the Xiamen plane overshot the runway.

Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft got stuck in the rain-soaked grass, forcing the closure of the country’s main airport.   /vvp

READ: Xiamen Air jet stuck at NAIA runway; flights canceled, diverted