Imee on US aircraft landing in NAIA: 'It was a clerical error'
Published Jul 7, 2023 08:10 am
The landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) of a Boeing C-17 transport aircraft registered under the U.S. military was a mistake and was caused by clerical error.
Sen. Imee Marcos (Senate PRIB Photo)
This was pointed out on Friday, July 7, by Senator Imee Marcos, chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee, after receiving a letter from MaryKay Carlson, US Ambassador to the Philippines, who provided a summary of the incident. Marcos had asked for a probe into the “questionable’’ landing of the US aircraft because Philippine aviation officials were not notified of its arrival. The letter from the US Embassy stated tat the subject aircraft was in the Philippines to support a bilateral military exercise. “It stopped at NAIA before going to its final destination in Palawan in order to comply with Philippine customs and immigration requirements. However, due to a clerical error, some of the information provided by the U.S. Government for the flight clearance was incorrect,’’ the US letter pointed out. Marcos said the U.S. Embassy admitted that while the aircraft had an approved diplomatic clearance from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the U.S. flight planners did not coordinate in advance with the NAIA ground handlers and were, in fact, unfamiliar with the airport. “This lack of coordination, in turn, led to the parking of the aircraft in the wrong spot, delays in ground servicing, and subsequent delays in the completion of customs and immigration processes,’’ Marcos said. “The U.S. Embassy further explained that the aircraft’s cargo included equipment for a U.S. Marine Corps Mobile Operations Center to be used in the Marine Aviation Support Activity (MASA) exercise and that the one non-crew passenger aboard the aircraft was a U.S. Marine traveling with the cargo who deplaned in Palawan to join his unit in support of the said exercise,’’’ she added.
Sen. Imee Marcos (Senate PRIB Photo)
This was pointed out on Friday, July 7, by Senator Imee Marcos, chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee, after receiving a letter from MaryKay Carlson, US Ambassador to the Philippines, who provided a summary of the incident. Marcos had asked for a probe into the “questionable’’ landing of the US aircraft because Philippine aviation officials were not notified of its arrival. The letter from the US Embassy stated tat the subject aircraft was in the Philippines to support a bilateral military exercise. “It stopped at NAIA before going to its final destination in Palawan in order to comply with Philippine customs and immigration requirements. However, due to a clerical error, some of the information provided by the U.S. Government for the flight clearance was incorrect,’’ the US letter pointed out. Marcos said the U.S. Embassy admitted that while the aircraft had an approved diplomatic clearance from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the U.S. flight planners did not coordinate in advance with the NAIA ground handlers and were, in fact, unfamiliar with the airport. “This lack of coordination, in turn, led to the parking of the aircraft in the wrong spot, delays in ground servicing, and subsequent delays in the completion of customs and immigration processes,’’ Marcos said. “The U.S. Embassy further explained that the aircraft’s cargo included equipment for a U.S. Marine Corps Mobile Operations Center to be used in the Marine Aviation Support Activity (MASA) exercise and that the one non-crew passenger aboard the aircraft was a U.S. Marine traveling with the cargo who deplaned in Palawan to join his unit in support of the said exercise,’’’ she added.