PAL probes pilot who told riders his life ‘more important’ than theirs

The management of Philippine Airlines has initiated its investigation against a pilot who told passengers that his life was more important than theirs after a Bangkok to Manila flight was delayed for more than five hours last Sunday.

In a statement, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said that they are now conducting an internal investigation against Capt. Filemon Tacan and will look into how he handled the requests of the passengers who asked to deplane while the ground crew were assessing the aircraft.

Philippine Airlines flight PR-731 was supposed to leave Bangkok at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday but technical issues grounded to plane until 5 p.m.

READ: Airport, airline execs tackle flight delays

Veteran journalist Inday Espina Varona, who was one of the passengers, described the five-hour ordeal as “hell.” She said that due to the technical issues of the plane, only one emergency air conditioning unit was working. Due to the heat, some parents were forced to strip their toddlers down to their diapers and some opted to stay at the main exit for air.

It was during this juncture that Tacan tried to allay the safety fears of the passengers by saying that his life was more important than theirs.

“My life is more important than your life. That’s why I always consider my life more (important) than anybody. That’s why I will not lie to you. Otherwise I won’t be with you. With that in mind, my life is more important than anybody else’s” he told the passengers.

Tacan was also quoted as saying that he had experienced 10-hour delays and that he is staying in the cockpit where the temperature is far higher compared to the cabin of the plane.

“PAL management is conducting an internal investigation on the matter. Management is reminding all flight crew to use the standard announcement at all times, including during operational exigencies. It is unfortunate that there was a deviation from the norm as far as communication is concerned. We apologize for the way it affected the sensibilities of passengers,” Villaluna said.

PAL said that Tacan is an experienced pilot with more than 30 years of flying experience. AJH/CDG