Reason for PAL flight diversion: defective air-con or engine shutdown?

COTABATO CITY—A Philippine Airlines flight from Manila to this city has been diverted to Mactan International Airport, about half an hour after it left the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Thursday morning.

Lawyer Kirby Abdullah, one of the passengers of the plane, said the Boeing 737 of PAL Flight 2959 took off from the runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 9:40 a.m., bound for this city.

READ: PAL diverts Cotabato flight to Cebu due to technical problem

The flight was expected to arrive at Awang Airport in Maguindanao at 11:10 a.m. But as of this dispatch the aircraft was still undergoing ground maintenance check which was expected to be completed at 2:30 p.m., as per latest onboard announcement, Abdullah told the Inquirer.

Abdullah said the plane “suddenly dropped” to a lower altitude 30 minutes into the flight, which forced the pilots to make an emergency landing on Mactan.

“They said (in onboard announcement that) it’s the aircraft aircondition system that malfunctioned; but it seems to me that the engine uncontrollably shut down in midair,” Abdullah said./rga