Flight data recorder found in Philippines air disaster

April 21, 2000

From staff and wire reports

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- Searchers recovered the flight data recorder Thursday from the wreckage of an Air Philippines jet which crashed Wednesday, air transport officials said.

The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, which had been found Wednesday, will now be sent to Washington, D.C. for analysis by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, authorities told CNN.

Recovery of the flight data recorder was delayed because the plane's tail section, where the recorder was located, continued smoldering for many hours after the accident, officials said.

An investigation into the worst air disaster in the history of the Philippines continued through the night and into Thursday, despite rain falling on the crash site.

The Air Philippines Boeing 737-200 packed with Easter holiday travelers crashed into a resort island in the southern Philippines on Wednesday, killing all 131 people on board.

Salvage crews recovered more bodies among the charred wreckage on Samal Island, where the plane crashed among trees. The remains are being taken to a military base, where grieving relatives have identified 17 of the crash victims, officials said.

Air Transportation Office chief Jacinto Ortega said his agency was hoping to recover all the bodies by Thursday afternoon.

Too soon to determine cause

Air Philippines flight 541 from Manila to Davao tried to land at Davao airport, but air traffic controllers said another plane was on the runway and had to be moved.

Flight 541 circled the airport twice before the crash, officials said. Villagers on Samal said the plane lost part of a wing when it clipped the top of a coconut tree. ATO officials said the coconut trees were on a 500-foot (155-meter) hill, and the plane should have been flying at an altitude of at least 2,000 feet in that area.

"It's going to be too early for us to be able to speculate on what happened, on the cause," Philippine Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said at the scene.

"I think we should wait for the appropriate report from the (Air Transport Office), although it is indicated on the record that the pilot asked for another chance to approach the runway, because of low cloud cover. Whether that is the cause or there's something else is still to be determined," Mercado said.

CNN's Maria Ressa reported that landings at the airport were suspended briefly before the crash because of low clouds.

Congressional committee to probe crash

A congressional committee will begin investigating the crash next week.

Rep. Danilo Suarez, vice chairman of the Philippines House of Representatives' committee on transportation and communication, said the investigation will focus on the history of the aircraft involved and whether navigational aids at Davao airport were functioning correctly.

Officials say the Davao airport is not equipped for instrument landings.

The 22-year-old plane had passed a routine maintenance check before taking off from Manila, officials said.

Terry Williams, a spokesman for the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said the Philippine government had requested assistance in recovering information from the voice and data recorders.

Williams said that he did not expect the NTSB to send a team to the crash site but they would if asked.

Flight 541 was carrying seven crew members and 124 passengers, including four infants not listed on the passenger manifest. The plane was built to carry up to 130 passengers, according to Boeing.

Third transportation accident in a week

It was the third major transportation accident in the Philippines in the past week, following two ferry accidents that killed more than 140 people.

The crash came at the start of the weeklong Easter holiday, a peak travel period in the island nation. Many of the passengers aboard the crashed jet were likely traveling to Samal Island for the holiday.

Prior to Wednesday's crash, the country's worst air disaster occurred in 1998 when a Cebu Pacific DC-9 jet crashed near the top of a fog-shrouded mountain in the southern Philippines, killing all 104 people aboard.

Air Philippines began operations in 1996, one of a number of new airlines created since the industry was deregulated several years ago.