MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine Airlines (PAL) aircraft veered off the runway at Mactan-Cebu International Airport on Friday, December 10.

All 29 passengers, including an infant, as well as four crew members are safe and were able to disembark using the plane’s airstairs, according to PAL.

The aircraft involved is a De Havilland Dash 8 turboprop operated by PAL Express with registry number RP-C5911. The flight was from Caticlan.

“The aircraft wheels veered off into the grass at the side edge of the runway. We thank airport authorities and the CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) for spearheading the towing of the aircraft back into the runway surface,” PAL said.

PAL also apologized for the inconvenience caused due to the partial blockage of the runway.

“We affirm that safety is our top priority and that Philippine Airlines is fully cooperating with the concerned airport and aviation authorities,” the airline said.

CAAP said in a statement that the airport runway was reopened at 2:38 pm, or around three hours after the 11:39 am incident. It added that 34 flights were affected by the incident, and that two flights were rerouted to the Iloilo International Airport. 

CAAP said its Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board team led by Rainer Baculinao was deployed to assess the situation and supervise the extraction of the aircraft.

“Coordination among the concerned authorities is ongoing. We have dispatched our accident investigators to the scene as well and we expect to get more information on the situation,” said CAAP chief Jim Sydiongco. – Rappler.com