Palawan PAF wing commander denies OV-10 Bronco’s decrepit state caused its crash

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 8): Palawan PAF wing commander denies OV-10 Bronco’s decrepit state caused its crash
 

Philippine Air Force (PAF) Brig. Gen. Conrado Parra Jr. denied conjectures that the decrepit state of the OV-10 Bronco 630 was the very reason it crashed with its two pilots off this city.

According to the wing commander of the 570th Composite Tactical Wing (CTW) and head of the Joint Task Force Bronco (TFB), the aircraft will not be given the green signal to fly if it has defects and if the pilots are not proficient in what they do.

Speaking to the local media, Parra Jr. said the team that maintains the OV-10 Bronco aircraft is also skillful and adept to make sure they are in good flying condition.

“Not exactly because they are defective, these airfraft came from Thailand,” he said.

 

Asked when the aircraft became the possession of the country, he said he was not sure and could not comment.

A pilot himself, he explained that they do not just fly the aircraft without making sure they are in ideal flying condition.

“I am a pilot myself, and we do not just fly the aircraft without making sure ourselves that they are in good working condition. Our mechanics are the best in our region that is why they are actually being hired by different aviation companies outside. In Singapore, in Saudi, all of them when they apply, I am sure they will be hired because they are good and meticulous,” he said.

Parra Jr. said aircraft crashes do not necessarily mean because they are old, or have been acquired a long time ago. “Our mechanics are the best, and it does not mean that because it is old, it will crash,” he said.

Nearly three weeks after the OV-10 Bronco 630 crashed, its fuselage has not yet been located by the joint task force. Major Jonathan Ybanez and 1Lt. Abner Nacion, have also not been discovered.

Last week, only a pilot’s helmet was found by a fisherman off Sombrero Island in this city. As a result, the task force has now brought its search and rescue to the vicinity of Rasa Island in Narra in southern Palawan.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=542078