Philippine Airlines - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

Although Philippine Airlines aircraft have been involved in a string of accidents since its founding in 1941, the majority of airline accidents have occurred with propeller aircraft during the early years of operations. Few PAL jet aircraft have been involved in accidents, the most notable being the explosion onboard Philippine Airlines Flight 434, masterminded by al-Qaeda and precursor to the ill-fated Project Bojinka.

Despite this, PAL is known for being the only airline in the Philippines to be accredited by the International Air Transport Association with passing the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), having been accredited in February 2007.

Philippine Airlines Reported Incidents
Flight Designation Date Aircraft Location Description Casualties
October 1, 1946 Douglas DC-3 Davao Airport The aircraft belly landed in an isolated swamp when the pilot had lost his bearings. Fatalities: 0
January 25, 1947 Douglas C-47 en route to Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport Dakota PI-C12 crashed into the 1,723 feet (525 m) high Mount Parker at an altitude of 1,570 feet (480 m). Fatalities: 4
June 16, 1947 Douglas C-47 Near Cebu Forced landed on the beach. Fatalities: 0
September 13, 1947 Douglas DC-3 Zamboanga Aircraft damaged beyond repair and written off. Fatalities: 0
January 21, 1948 Douglas DC-3 Mandurriao Airport Wheels-up landing. Fatalities: 0
April 20, 1948 Douglas C-47 Jolo Airport Crashed on landing. Fatalities: 0
May 17, 1948 Douglas DC-3 Cebu Airport Crashed on takeoff. Fatalities: 0
November 15, 1948 Douglas DC-6 Wake Island Overran runway on landing. Fatalities: 0
May 7, 1948 Douglas C-47 En route Daet to Manila Crashed into the sea. A time-bomb had been placed aboard the aircraft by two ex-convicts. Fatalities: 13
N/A January 24, 1950 Douglas DC-3 Iloilo City The aircraft crashed en route to Mandurriao Airport. Fatalities: 4
March 10, 1952 Douglas DC-3 Cebu City Struck the top of a house and crashed. Fatalities: 3
N/A March 30, 1952 Douglas DC-3 Baguio City The aircraft, with registration number PI-C270 and departing from Loakan Airport, crashed upon takeoff. Fatalities: 10
October 15, 1953 Douglas C-47 Near Tuguegarao Emergency landing in a rice paddy. Fatalities: 0
N/A January 14, 1954 Douglas DC-6 Rome, Italy Crashed in Ciampino Airport while attempting to land in heavy turbulence, which led to an engine fire. Fatalities: 16
December 11, 1957 de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter Labo Airport Climbing through 75 feet (23 m) after takeoff, the Otter suddenly turned left and descended. The airplane hit two trees and caught fire. Fatalities: 2
July 14, 1960 Douglas C-47 En route to Cebu Bad weather at the intended destination Zamboanga forced the crew of the PAL DC-3 to divert to Cebu. Fuel exhaustion then forced the crew to ditch their plane in shallow water, 40yds off the Mindanao shore. Fatalities: 0
PR S26 November 23, 1960 Douglas DC-3 Manila Crashed in Mount Baco while en route to Manila due to poor weather conditions. Fatalities: 33
PR S85 December 22, 1960 Douglas DC-3 Cebu City Crashed in Mactan-Cebu International Airport upon takeoff after a failure of the number one engine. Fatalities: 28
PR 984 March 2, 1963 Douglas DC-3 Davao City Crashed due to premature descent. Fatalities: 27
PR 946 February 21, 1964 Douglas DC-3 Marawi City Crashed due to pilot error upon landing approach. Fatalities: 31
May 21, 1964 de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter En route from Siocon Airport to Zamboanga Airport The pilot continued to fly VFR into unfavourable weather over the jagged shoreline with practically zero visibility due to heavy rain. There was a heavy squall at the time and at the scene of the accident. Weather conditions in the Western Mindanao area during the day of the accident were generally unfavourable for VFR flights. When the pilot took off from Siocon the ceiling at the destination, Zamboanga, was below IFR minima. Fatalities: 11
October 29, 1965 Douglas C-47 Near Manila Struck a tree and crashed. Fatalities: 1
PR 785 June 29, 1966 Douglas DC-3 Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro Crashed due to crew error, severe turbulence and strong gusty winds. Fatalities: 26
PR 345 February 28, 1967 Fokker F-27 Friendship Cebu City Crashed at Mactan-Cebu International Airport during landing due to an aft center of gravity condition resulting from improper loading. Fatalities: 12
PR 385 July 6, 1967 Fokker F-27 Friendship Bacolod City Crashed into a mountain. Fatalities: 21
August 5, 1969 Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Near Zamboanga A passenger set off an explosive device, probably gelignite, in the lavatory blowing himself out of the plane. The HS-748 landed safely.. Fatalities: 1
PR 158 September 12, 1969 BAC One-Eleven Antipolo City Crashed short on a hill upon landing approach. Fatalities: 45
PR 215 April 21, 1970 Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Manila Crashed in Nichols Field after a bomb exploded in the rear cargo section. Fatalities: 36
May 9, 1970 Fokker F-27 Maria Cristina Airport Control was lost on take-off from runway 02 in almost zero visibility. The F-27 ran off the runway and rolled over stockpiles of sand and crossed the shoulder. The left wingtip struck a stockpile of rocks, causing the aircraft to cartwheel.. Fatalities: 1
June 2, 1970 Fokker F-27 Near Roxas A hand grenade exploded inside the passenger cabin at an altitude of 13,000 feet (4,000 m) . A safe emergency landing was carried out at Roxa with a 9 sq ft (0.84 m2) hole in the fuselage.. Fatalities: 1
July 1, 1970 Fokker F-27 Dumaguete Airport The F-27 overran the runway. Undercarriage and right wing were severely damaged.. Fatalities: 0
PR 463 November 28, 1972 Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Bislig City Bounced and swerved on landing. The nosegear, wings and propellers were severely damaged. None
N/A February 3, 1975 Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Manila Crashed in Nichols Field after a fire developed in the number two engine shortly after takeoff. It was also due to crew error in their inability to deal with a standard emergency. Fatalities: 33
February 25, 1975 Douglas DC-3 En route to Zamboanga Hijacked on a flight from Pagadian City to Zamboanga. Both hijackers surrendered. Fatalities: 0
May 10, 1975 Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Manila International Airport Tire burst during retraction. Fatalities: 0
June 3, 1975 BAC One-Eleven Near Manila During descent into Manila (at FL200) a bomb exploded in the right lavatory in the rear of the plane. The explosion caused a hole in the fuselage of 1.3m x 4m. A successful emergency landing was made. Fatalities: 1
PR 421 April 18, 1977 Douglas DC-8 Tokyo, Japan A DC-8-53 named "Champaca" (RP-C803) was written off after a landing accident at Haneda Airport. None
July 17, 1977 NAMC YS-11A Mactan Island The no. 1 engine ran down and temperature rose to 850deg. C. The aircraft, on base leg for an approach to Mactan, lost height and ditched. The airplane sank in 17 feet (5.2 m) of water. Fatalities: 0
August 17, 1978 BAC One-Eleven En route from Cebu to Manila An explosion in the rear left lavatory blew a hole in the fuselage. The aircraft was flying at FL240 at the time, on its way from Cebu to Manila. Fatalities: 1
July 11, 1982 Hawker Siddeley HS-748-209 Jolo Airport The take-off was aborted at V1 when the pilots heard two unusual sounds from the no. 1 engine. The aircraft overran and came to rest against a wall and some vehicles. Fatalities: 1
August 4, 1984 BAC One-Eleven Tacloban Airport Overshot runway 36 by 100 feet (30 m) and ended up in the sea. Fatalities: 0
PR 206 June 26, 1987 Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Itogon, Benguet Crashed in Mount Ugu, fifteen kilometers south of Loakan Airport in Baguio City, due to poor visibility. Fatalities: 50
PR 443 December 13, 1987 Short 360-300 Iligan City Crashed near Maria Cristina Airport. Fatalities: 15
N/A July 21, 1989 BAC One-Eleven Manila Crashed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport when the aircraft overran the runway while landing, impacting several vehicles on an adjacent roadway. Ground Fatalities: 8
PR 143 May 11, 1990 Boeing 737-300 Manila EI-BZG suffered an explosion in the center fuel tank near the terminal of Ninoy Aquino International Airport while preparing for takeoff. The fire and smoke engulfed the aircraft before it could be completely evacuated. The explosion was similar to what happened to the ill-fated TWA Flight 800 six years later. Fatalities: 8
PR 434 December 11, 1994 Boeing 747-200B Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan A small bomb exploded underneath the seat (seat 26K) of Japanese businessman Haruki Ikegami. Ikegami died due to injuries sustained in the explosion, but none of the aircraft's other 293 passengers and crew were killed. The aircraft landed safely. Investigators later found that Ramzi Yousef planted the bomb there to test it out for a terrorist attack he was planning, Project Bojinka. The plan was foiled after an apartment fire in Manila led investigators to the laptop computer and disks containing the plan. Fatalities: 1
PR 137 March 22, 1998 Airbus A320-200 Bacolod City The aircraft overran the runway of Bacolod City Domestic Airport and crashed, plowing through homes near its end. Ground Fatalities: 3
PR 475 October 26, 2007 Airbus A320-200 Butuan City The aircraft, with 148 passengers on board, overshot the runway of Bancasi Airport. Injuries: 19

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