A private plane carrying some of President Aquino’s Cabinet members overshot the runway of the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport of more popularly known as the Tacloban City airport on Saturday afternoon, January 17, 2015. Some of the cabinet officials on-board include Executive Sec. Paquito Ochoa, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma and other government officials.
According to Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who was also on-board the plane, he heard an explosion near the tire before it skidded along the runway. The congressman also confirmed that Sec. Ochoa and Coloma were on the plane and all government officials are okay.
Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez also stated during an interview with the media that he heard an explosion which he surmised a burst tire. PNP Region 9 Diretor Asher Dolina on his part noted during an interview that the pilot tried to abort the take-off but the plane then skidded on the runway.
The PNP also noted that a total of 11 Cabinet officials were on board and safe while two from the crew and the pilto were rushed to the hospital. The incident happened shortly after the Philippine Airline (PAL) plane carrying Pope Francis took off for Manila.
Although most netizens suspected that the plane carrying the Cabinet members was a “Private Plane,” but according to one netizen, the plane is Philippine Air Force Learjet under 250 Presidential Airlift Wing intended for VIP and not a private plane as most media reported.
We will update this post once we get the complete details of the plane. Is it a private plane or a government plane?
Here’s the Video of the Plane courtesy of Rappler: