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2 hurt in plane crash at airport
A pilot of a Cessna 172 aircraft and his female passenger were injured during a reported plane crash at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport late yesterday afternoon.
The pilot, a 25-year-old male, complained of pain on his left arm, while the passenger, a 25-year-old Chinese woman, suffered minor abrasions and redness in the face, according to the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services last night.
DFEMS said they received a call from the Commonwealth Ports Authority Aircraft Firefighting about a plane crash inside the airport at 5:34pm.
At 5:58pm, responding DFEMS emergency medical technicians were met at the airport by ARFF personnel, who moved the patients from the crash site.
The emergency medical technicians assessed the pilot and the passenger before transporting them to the Commonwealth Health Center.
According to Star Marianas Air administrative manager Alma G. Canlas, the aircraft landed short of the approach end of runway 7 after it departed on a sightseeing flight with one passenger.
Canlas said the pilot reportedly experienced a loss of performance and decided to return to the airport but was unable to complete the landing on the runway.
The plane landed short of the runway on the airport property.
Canlas said the cause of the performance loss is being researched by Star Marianas Air mechanics.
She said the flight was being conducted under Federal Aviation Administration flight-seeing rules.
Canlas noted that the flight-seeing operation, the aircraft, and the pilot are not part of Star Marianas Air’s certified airline operations.
There was no mention as to the extent of damage to the plane.
