Robredo’s plane: The Piper Seneca

MANILA, Philippines – Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo was on board a 6-seater, twin-engine Piper PA-34 Seneca light aircraft that crashed at sea off Masbate on Saturday, August 18.

The model — produced by American maker Piper Aircraft since 1971 — is primarily used for personal and business flying, according to the company’s website.

The current PA-34 220T Seneca V was introduced in January 1997, according to a profile of the plane published on the industry online resource gallery www.airlines.net.

It features intercooled, turbocharged L/TSIO-360-RB engines, and seating for 5 passengers with a standard workstation for entertainment or work with an optional phone/fax. A sixth seat in place of the workstation is optional.

AviaTour Air, the owner of Robredo’s ill-fated plane, is a company offering air tours and flight chartering out of Mactan, Cebu, where the DILG Secretary departed from on Saturday to go to Naga. The company also runs a flight school in Cebu.

The company boasts of a fleet of 3 Piper Senecas, one of them the aircraft that crashed.

AviaTour Air also owns 3 other Piper planes: 1 Arrow, 1 Geronimo and 1 Saratoga.

According to the company’s website, the charter rate for a twin-engine aircraft (5 passengers) going from Mactan to Masbate is P65,000, excluding waiting charges of P2,000 peer hour and an overnight rate of P8,000.

Flights must be booked at least 24 hours before departure, and the price pilot, fuel, airport fees, insurance, taxes.

History of nose landing gear collapsing

The Piper Seneca had never crashed before, but in March 2011 the plane had a rough landing at a small airfield in the UK.

The official report said: 

During circuits at Gloucestershire Airport, the aircraft landed in what was described as a “slightly flat and firm” touchdown, following which the nose landing gear immediately retracted. The nose dropped, causing the propellers to contact the runway surface, and the aircraft subsequently came to a halt further down the runway; neither occupant was injured.

The retraction may have occurred as a result of a slight ‘out-of-rig’ condition, although possible damage arising from an earlier heavy landing could not be ruled out. However, the PA-34 series of aircraft has a history of nose landing gear collapses, with no single cause having being identified, although there are a number of potential contributory factors. – Rappler.com

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