By TARA YAP, FLORENCE HIBIONADA
While scary videos emerged from the troubled Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight that made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport, a Roman Catholic priest disclosed there was still a general sense of calmness.
“It was intense, but there was no panic. There was no crying,” said Fr. Pedro C. Calvo Jr., who hails from Calinog town, Iloilo province.
“This is my second life. This is our second life,” added Fr. Calvo, the parish priest of San Juan town in Batangas province. He was one of the 347 passengers and 18 crew of the PAL flight PR113 bound for Manila. He was in California visiting a sibling.
According to Fr. Calvo, the plane took off normally. But minutes after, passengers seated by the window started seeing flames spewing from an engine.
Fr. Calvo, who was seated in the aisle section, also personally saw flames spitting in intervals that made the plane shake each time.
When Captain Triston Simeon decided to turn back to LAX and make an emergency landing five minutes into the flight due to “emergency trouble”, Fr. Calvo just prayed.
“I prayed God will guide our pilot so he can bring us all back safely. The plane could explode, yet with God’s grace, the emergency landing went smoothly,” Fr. Calvo added.
When the plane landed at the LAX runway, Fr. Calvo recalled how anxiety faded and turned into a celebratory mood with passengers and crew applause
The Ilonggo priest lauded the 18 flight attendants of PAL for quickly assisting the needs of passengers, especially one woman who fainted.
Upon disembarking from the plane, the priest saw how the plane’s tires were totally burned.
