TACLOBAN CITY – A Cebu Pacific airplane developed a problem when it touched down yesterday morning at the runway of the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport in this city.

Edward Gallardo, manager of the Cebu Pacific branch office based at the airport, told the Leyte Samar Daily Express that they immediately informed their Manila office about the incident and that a maintenance team from Cebu was on its way to Tacloban to inspect the plane.

The incident occurred around 7:14 a.m. yesterday when then plane under flight number 651 touched down at the airport’s runway. The plane departed from t7he Manila Domestic Airport `at 6:10 a.m. with 64 passengers.

Initial investigation conducted by the Air Transportation Office (ATO) showed that the Cebu Pacific ADC-9 plane with registration number RPC 1508 landed at the DZR Airport’s runway 18 and very shortly thereafter, the conical tail-end section of the fuselage at the right side if the aircraft became detached and fell to the middle of the runway.

The aircraft, however, was able to taxi safely to the ramp.

Members of the Crash Fire Rescue Personnel of Tacloban DZR airport also conducted an inspection of the runway and found that there was no apparent damage resulting from the incident.

The conical tail-end section of the fuselage, it w4as learned, covers the auxiliary power of the aircraft’s air-conditioning and electrical supplies.

Among those who were supposed to take the plane was Leyte Rep. Remedios Petilla. She instead boarded a Philippine Airlines that was also to depart yesterday morning.