PAL Survivor Doubts It was Air Pocket

The Philippine Star
Monday, December 7, 1998

A passenger of Philippine Airlines flight PR 502 expressed doubt yesterday that it was an air pocket that caused the aircraft's violent movements in mid-air, causing injury to 11 of the 283 passengers on board.

The passenger, who spoke with an Indian accent and declined to reveal his name in a telephone call to The STAR yesterday, said if it was indeed an "air pocket" the plane encountered, then the plane should have lost altitude quickly.

"But what happened was that the plane moved upwards, leaning on its right side," said the source, who said he was lucky enough to escape injury on the Saturday flight from Singapore to Manila.

"I think you should speak to an aviation expert or some of the other passengers, to find out if it really was an air pocket," said the source, who claims to have logged enough hours of air travel to know what an "air pocket" feels like.

The turbulence, he said, lasted from anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes, within an hour after takeoff front Singapore.

Asked what he suspected might have caused the plane to suddenly move upwards, the source said there might have been an error in the airplane's mechanism or in the cockpit.

He, however, lauded the aircraft's crew for "doing a good job."

"After all, they were able to land the plane safely, and no one died," he said. "But let this be a wakeup call to PAL," he added.

An official PAL statement released shortly after the incident said the Airbus 330-300 hit an "air pocket" while Capt. Alfredo Magbanua was cruising 37,000 feet. It said the aircraft dropped 1,000 feet in a matter of seconds because of the turbulence.