Yes, the findings were harsh indeed when the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) found grave lapses in the crash of the Piper Seneca that claimed the life of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, the owner Capt. Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese student pilot Kshitiz Chand.
But unless there is solid, technical evidence that would refute its findings, the public and sympathizers of Bahinting’s family would be hard pressed to believe otherwise.
The pilot’s family were more accepting about the findings of pilot error and engine failure.
What particularly hurt were the findings of poor management and maintenance by Bahinting s Aviatour flight school and company and the likelihood that there was a collusion between Aviatour and the CAAP in the certification of the planes for commercial flights.
This forced them to issue a statement denying allegations of collusion and fraud.
“There is no perfect machine,” the fmaily said.
That’s true but CAAP finding showed that Bahinting should have turned the plane back to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and not taken a chance in crash landing in Masbate.
The special investigation committee noted that the plane was airborne for 70 minutes which meant that both pilots had an hour and 10 minutes to make the switch.
This was confirmed by the text message sent by Robredo’s aide to a top Cebu police official asking for another flight reservation several minutes before the crash.
“If some people did their job, if the rules of the industry were followed, if those involved were only faithful to their obligations, the tragedy could have been avoided,” the President said.
So many ifs can’t resurrect Robredo, Bahinting and Chand from their graves .
This leaves the government with the task of penalizing Aviatour, which has already lost students in the wake of the crash, and making sure that similar flight schools toe the line.
It’s not enough for Aviatour owners to say the crash should serve as a wake up call for them and other flight schools to enforce more stringent safety measures for their flights.
Whether this incident will result in Aviatour’s temporary closure or suspension will be known after charges are leveled against them.
The safety of passengers, whether VIP or ordinary citizen, should never be compromised.