Air Force: 'Old' planes used by PNoy safe to fly

In the aftermath of the plane crash that claimed the life of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, the Philippine Air Force assured the public that the "old" planes being used by President Benigno Aquino III are safe to fly.

"Of course, they undergo very stringent maintenance procedures and they are also certified to fly especially more so… [because] we're flying the President," Philippine Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol told GMA News in an interview.

He issued the statement after lawmakers urged Malacañang to beef up the modes of transportation for top government officials after Robredo died last Saturday when the chartered plane he took crashed to the sea just off Masbate Island.

House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said that the Presidential Airlift Wing of the Philippine Air Force – in-charge of transporting the President and the First Family by air, be given funds to buy two planes for domestic flights and two more for international flights.

This is because most of the aircrafts being used by the Air Force "are older than the President," he said.

Okol could not immediately confirm if that was true, saying he needs to check their records. He noted that the quality of an aircraft does not depend on its age.

"I have flown aircraft far older than I am, but it's not on how you... It's not on age of the aircraft, but it's in the matter of maintenance that you do with the aircraft," he said.

The Air Force spokesman said that the primary executive jet used by the Presidential Airlift Wing is the Fokker F28 Fellowship while the backup is the Fokker F27 Friendship.

On the other hand, he said that the helicopters being used by the President are the Sikorsky Black Hawk and the Bell 412.

Here are brief descriptions of the aircraft units under the Presidential Airlift Wing:

Fokker F27 Friendship

According to aircraft encyclopedia flugzeuginfo.net, the F27 Friendship is a "twin-engine turboprop regional airliner with a capacity of maximum 52 passengers" produced by Dutch manufacturer Fokker.
 
Airliners.net said the F27 Friendship "was built in greater numbers than any other western turboprop airliner."  It said Fokker began designing the F27 in the 1950s.
 
Fokker F28 Fokker Fellowship

Aircraft encyclopedia flugzeuginfo.net also said the F28 Friendship is "a twin-engine regional airliner with a capacity of maximum 85 passengers."
 
According to Airliners.net, Fokker began developing the F28 in 1960 after it saw a perceived demand for a "higher performance and greater capacity airliner in comparison with the F27." 

Sikorsky Black Hawk
 

Flugzeuginfo.net describes the Black Hawk as a medium utility helicopter with two turbo-shaft engines and a capacity of two crewmembers and 14 passengers produced by the US manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft.
 
Bell 412

According to flugzeuginfo.net, Bell 412 is "a twin-engine 15-seat medium utility helicopter produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter Textron [and] produced in Fort Worth in Dallas (USA) and Mirabel in  Quebec (Canada)."
 
Airliners.net said that the development of the Bell 412 began in the late 1970s. — VS, GMA News