Philippine Airlines Flight 443
 A Short 360 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | December 13, 1987 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Near Iligan-Maria Cristina Airport, Philippines |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Short 360-300 |
| Operator | Philippine Airlines |
| Registration | EI-BTJ |
| Flight origin | Mactan–Cebu International Airport, Philippines |
| Destination | Iligan-Maria Cristina Airport, Philippines |
| Passengers | 11 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 15 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Philippine Airlines Flight 443 was an early morning domestic flight that crashed on approach to Maria Cristina Airport, on December 13, 1987. The flight was intended to fly to Malabang Airport[1] after arriving in Iligan before returning to Cebu.
The Short 360-300 operating the route departed Mactan–Cebu International Airport at 6:42 a.m. local time. with a delay of 17 minutes. The last radio contact was at 7:17 a.m, local time, when the aircraft was on approach to land at Iligan, on Runway 02. When on approach, the aircraft crashed onto the side of Mount Gurain, a nearby mountain to the airport that was around 5000 feet high. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and all 15 people on board the plane, 11 passengers and 4 crew, were confirmed dead.[2][3]
Passengers and crew
[edit]The passengers were identified to be:[1]
- Dr. Lita Benitez
- Orville Cloma
- C. Dimosimba
- Vicente Guanzon
- Judith Mellijor
- Leslie Mellijor (child)
- Linda Monterroyo
- Lufrosino Jacob
- John Richard Wood
- Dinky Montaner (flying to Malabang)
- Norayda Montaner (flying to Malabang)
The crew were identified to be Captain Roberto L. Sarenas, Captain Pastor Quebral, First Officer Abelardo Villarba and stewardess Antoinette Lim.[1]
Search and recovery
[edit]Philippine Airlines immediately ordered three planes to fly on the route the aircraft took while the Philippine Air Force assisted the search by sending over two Huey helicopters, however efforts were delayed by inclement weather in the area. [4]
On December 19, five days after the crash, the wreckage was found, with ground troops reporting that some of the victims had missing limbs, and that others were badly burnt. There were reports that the crash site was also looted.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Manila Standard - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ "Remains of PAL crash victims found". New Straits Times. Cagayan de Oro. 19 December 1987. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Shorts 360-300 EI-BTJ Iligan Airport (IGN)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
- ^ "Wreckage of missing Philippines Airlines spotted - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ "New Straits Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
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