PIA plane forced to return to Saipan after landing gear fails

A Pacific Island Aviations airplane was forced to return to the Saipan International Airport Friday morning after its landing gear failed to activate when it was about to land at the Rota airport.

The airplane circled the Rota airport five times before the two pilots decided to return to Saipan. The plane managed to land at the Saipan airport safely. All 13 passengers aboard the 9:15am flight were safe.

According to Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Carlos H. Salas, the plane was on its way to Guam and Rota when the incident happened.

Salas said the PIA pilots decided to return to Saipan around 9:30am and sought the assistance of the SIA Traffic Control so that the plane could land safely at the airport’s runway.

“All passengers are safe and that was a brave thing to do. The pilots took an emergency landing after deciding to come back to Saipan. The aircraft experienced mechanical problem and its landing gears did not come out when it was about to land on Rota,” said the executive director.

Salas appreciated the pilots’ decision to return to Saipan instead of landing on Rota. He said the pilots were brave and decided accordingly.

According to Salas, t was later found that the plane’s landing gear had failed to activate.

In late 1990s, two Tinian residents sued the PIA, saying they suffered psychological trauma when the PIA plane they were on crash landed in 1998 on its way to Guam.

Rosita C. Palacios and Carleen P. Mendiola asked for punitive damages amounting to $1 million in the civil complaint they filed before the Superior Court through their lawyer Joshua A. Berger.

The two women took the PIA Tinian-Guam flight on Dec. 8, 1998 to do some Christmas shopping on Guam during the day and come back to Tinian in the evening.

However, the aircraft’s landing gear failed to operate when it was about to land on Guam, forcing the plane to circle Won Pat International Airport several times before finally crash landing.

“PIA has engaged in a pattern and practice of improperly maintaining the aircraft which operated in the CNMI,” the civil complaint said.

PIA denied all the allegations. It said the two women did not understand the meaning of the term “crash landed.” The airline claimed it was not responsible for the alleged injuries they sustained.