Guam governor’s flight to Saipan aborted
Guam Gov. Felix Camacho was only five minutes away from landing at the Saipan International Airport yesterday when the plane he was riding on aborted its descent due to dangerous weather conditions.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta said he was on his way to the airport to meet his Guam counterpart when he learned about the flight turnaround.
Babauta said that Camacho had wanted to personally visit Saipan to offer assistance in the aftermath of Supertyphoon Chaba.
“We talked minutes before he boarded the plane, that’s why I knew he was on that flight. He was five minutes away from landing when the plane took a turn back [to Guam],” said Babauta.
He said he wanted to give Camacho a quick tour of the island to inspect the extent of the typhoon damage.
Babauta said Camacho offered to send line crew personnel to assist in the power utility recovery efforts, as well as doctors to the Commonwealth.
The CNMI was on the reverse when Supertyphoon Pongsona hit Guam in late 2002.
At that time, the CNMI sent some of its line crew personnel and equipment to Guam for its recovery efforts. In return, the Guam Power Authority reimbursed the CNMI for nearly $1 million for the assistance.
Meantime, Babauta said he does not know yet whether the Guam governor would make another attempt to visit the CNMI anytime soon.
