Philippine officials say theres no evidence of sabotage in three crashes involving four aerial spraying aircraft over the past two months. “There is no sabotage of any kind in those incidents. It is just that they happened one after another in so short a time,” Frederick San Felix, regional manager of the Air Transportation Office (ATO), told The Philippine Star. The latest crash happened Thursday and all the aircraft have been involved in spraying banana plantations with fungicide. Three of four pilots were killed. The first crash happened in October and the second, a collision between two ag planes, occurred in November. One of the pilots in the collision survived. San Felix said there is also no indication that mechanical or maintenance faults are to blame. He said there are no plans for increased inspections or groundings as a result of the crashes.
Sabotage Ruled Out In Ag Plane Crashes
Key Takeaways:
- Three crashes involving four aerial spraying aircraft in the Philippines over two months resulted in three pilot fatalities while working on banana plantations.
- Philippine officials have ruled out sabotage, mechanical faults, or maintenance issues as causes, attributing the incidents to their close proximity in time.
- Despite the series of fatal accidents, the Air Transportation Office has no plans for increased inspections or groundings of aerial spraying aircraft.
See a mistake? Contact us.
