Rescuers sift through burned wreckage of Philippine plane

Rescuers sift through burned wreckage of Philippine plane

SAMAL, Philippines (AFP): Rescuers and investigators sifted
through the burned wreckage of an Air Philippines Boeing jet on
Wednesday evening in search of clues on the cause of a fiery
crash which left 131 people dead in the country's worst air
disaster.

The 22 year-old aircraft plowed into a coconut grove and burst
into flames in this southern island during a landing attempt at
nearby Davao airport on Wednesday morning, killing all the seven
crewmen and 124 passengers on board. The dead included at least
one Australian man.

Most of the passengers were flying to Davao, a popular tourist
area, for the Easter holidays.

Aviation officials working under intermittent rain retrieved
the cockpit voice recorder and said the weather could have been a
"contributory factor" in the crash.

They had yet to retrieve the flight data recorder from the
burning tail section.

As night fell, military units set up emergency power
generators to allow them to comb through the debris during the
night.

"Search operations will continue overnight," Navy Col. Renato
Runas told AFP.

Officials said there were no survivors on the domestic flight
from Manila.

Transportation Undersecretary Jacinto Ortega told a news
conference that "there was no mention of any mechanical problems"
by the crew in their last radio transmissions, and added that
probers have no evidence that a rudder problem that has troubled
similar Boeing 737-200 aircraft elsewhere was a factor.

He said the weather was clear while the domestic flight 541
from Manila made a landing approach in Davao, but that there were
low-lying clouds which could have contributed to the accident.

The Boeing jet aborted its first landing attempt while waiting
for a Philippine Airlines Airbus to clear the Davao runway, but
Ortega said the procedure was normal and added: "I don't think
it's connected" to the accident.

"We are very sure that the flight data recorder will be
recovered," he said, adding that both would be sent to either the
US National Transportation Safety Board or its Australian
counterpart for analysis.

Ortega said the plane's nose and fuselage had "totally
disintegrated and only the tail was left intact."

Sammy Badilles, a village official among the first to the
scene, said he saw the plane belching smoke near its tail moments
before it dovetailed near the island's northern tip.

"After that, I heard a loud burst in mid-air, then I saw the
plane descending unsteadily," he said. "When it hit the ground,
there was a louder explosion."

"It was a total wreck," Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado told
reporters at the crash site.

"Seeing the wreckage, it is impossible to think that anyone
survived because the plane was torn to pieces," he said.

By evening, rescuers had filled 85 green, black and red
plastic bags with human remains. Some bags contained body parts
from different persons.

Air Philippines earlier said the aircraft was delivered to its
first owners in 1978 and acquired by Air Philippines in 1996. A
Boeing spokesman told CNN television the Boeing 737-200 series
was initially produced in 1968.

It was "not at all" unusual for a 22-year-old aircraft to be
still in operation, he said.

The plane "can be operated essentially indefinitely. You do
have to increase the maintenance requirements."

The spokesman said he was unaware of any problems involving
similar Boeing aircraft in recent years that may hint at the
cause of the crash.

The crash was the worst air disaster in the Philippines,
coming two years after a Cebu Pacific Air DC-109 slammed into a
southern Philippines mountain in February 1998, killing all 104
passengers and crew on board.

It was the second transport disaster to hit the Philippines in
a week after an overloaded ferry capsized off the southern island
of Jolo, claiming at least 143 lives.

"I am saddened by the news," President Joseph Estrada said in
a radio message. "Let us pray for all the victims."

Pope John Paul II also offered a message of condolence from
the Vatican.

The Pope said he was "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of
lives and is praying for the victims asking God to give those who
weep their loved ones courage and force," in a message to Davao
Archbishop Fernando Capalla.