http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage...StoryId=117413
Asian Spirit plane's propeller falls off mid-air
One of the four propellers of an Asian Spirit passenger aircraft fell to the ground while the plane was mid-air in Masbate province, radio dzMM reported.
Correspondent Zenny Silva said the left wing propeller fell off as the plane with flight number 6K 321 and tail number RPC 2195-7 was made its way to the runway Tuesday morning.
Passengers said the aircraft made it safely to the ground with three propellers. No one was reported hurt among the 49 passengers and two crewmen.
As of last report, the plane is stranded at the airport in Masbate.
Officials at the Manila Domestic Airport said they have yet to receive a report on the incident.
Asian Spirit management, meanwhile, also has yet to issue a statement.
The incident on Tuesday came in the wake of another Asian Spirit plane that overshot the runway also in Masbate in January this year.
No one was hurt among the aircraft's 43 passengers, the airline said.
The new owner might have some real serious problems on hand!
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquire...-delayed-8-hrs
Asian Spirit flights to Bora delayed 8 hrs
Luli Arroyo takes chopper
By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:36:00 05/02/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Holiday travelers lost their cool at the Manila domestic airport Thursday when they found out that they would not be able to make it to Boracay on schedule but would have to wait for hours.
Only two of the usual five Asian Spirit aircraft bound for Caticlan were able to fly, a spokesperson said.
At least 416 passengers, including President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's daughter Luli, sat for between four and eight hours inside the crammed and humid terminal building.
Airport security chief Angel Atutubo said that Luli waited from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Restless passengers
Asian Spirit ad and promo manager Trina Francisco said Luli took a helicopter in the afternoon but she did not know where she went.
Commotions broke out from time to time as restless passengers engaged the airline's service desk, demanding to know when they could depart. Discussions became so heated at times that police had to step in to pacify the passengers.
Only 2 planes available
Francisco said only two planes were flying from Manila to Caticlan and back on a heavy travel day.
"Two are working, two planes are down and one was chartered for Macau ... and passenger safety is our priority," Francisco told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).
Diverted
"A lot of people are angry, we understand that and we apologize, we're very sorry for the inconvenience. It's unfortunate for us that this happened on a Labor Day weekend, when a lot of things are going on in Boracay," she said.
The flights had to be diverted to Kalibo, at least an hour by land from Caticlan, as the latter's airport lacked night navigation equipment for landings and takeoffs. Francisco said the airline would shoulder the passengers' shuttle expenses from Kalibo to Caticlan.
"My friends who caught an earlier flight were surprised when the pilot announced that they had landed in Kalibo. They were not even told that they were landing there instead of Caticlan, and that's another hour or so by land," said Jeff Rios, who booked his Boracay flight with seven of his friends in March.
No options given
His group was supposed to be on a five-day holiday but the delays cut their vacation short.
"The delay wasted our hotel booking for today. They should have given us options, like if we wanted to book for another day, instead of holding us here. They just told us not to leave the departure area and that the plane had a delayed turnaround," Rios said.
'Out of control'
Another passenger said: "They keep announcing the planes are having a late turnaround ... are they coming from Taiwan?"
Maritess Serrano, another vacationer, was supposed to leave at 1:30 p.m. but her flight was pushed back throughout the day.
"They said it's out of their control because the flights were full. We were advised at check-in that the flights will be delayed by 30 minutes to an hour, and that was OK with me ... But I didn't realize it was going to be this long," Serrano said.
Cebu Pacific flights bound for several Visayas and Mindanao destinations also suffered delays of between 10 minutes and an hour as power fluctuations slowed down check-in at the old domestic terminal, said airline spokesperson Candice Iyog.