The plane crash that killed 13 people – mostly children as a cargo plane went down on a 2,000 square meter shanty area in Better Living in Paranaque has emphasized city wide zoning and planning flaws.
The cargo plane which immediately plunged down after taking off from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) runway strip exploded and created a fire which destroyed 50 dwellings and killed some of its residents.
“CAAP Director General Ramon Gutierrez on Sunday said the crowded area around NAIA was among the reasons cited by international regulators to downgrade the Philippines’ rating in 2008.” (source: inquirer.net)
Gutierrez stated that our airports in the metro lack the specified land area for international standards. Most airports in other countries are located on the countryside.
This recent plane crash which happened on December 10, 2011 is one of the fatal crashes in our aviation history.
Previous crashes that happened:
- October 2009 when a cargo plane bound for Palawan crashed into a warehouse and burst into flames in Las Piñas City, killing at least four people aboard and destroying 15 houses.
- February 2008, a single-engine Cessna plane belly-landed in a cogonal patch at the reclamation area in Parañaque between Diosdado Macapagal and Roxas Boulevards, within sight of the crowded SM Mall of Asia. The aircraft’s pilots miraculously survived.
- April 2007, a two-seat Cessna 206 fell and exploded on a residential lot at Merville village, killing its pilot. No houses were damaged but the plane was completely burned.
- November 2002, a twin-engine Fokker 27 plane crashed into Manila Bay minutes after takeoff, killing 19 people aboard en route to Laoag City.
With the recent plane accident, Gutierrez expects immediate action from the government such as transferring major air traffic to our provincial airports like that of in Clark International Airport so as to avoid further fatal incidents.
Over population and imprudent zoning of our city areas could indicate more problem areas in Metro Manila’s over-all urban plan.
