Philippine Airlines Flight 143
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Philippine Airlines Flight 143 (PR143) was a domestic flight from the Manila Ninoy Aquino Airport,
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
to
Mandurriao Airport Mandurriao Airport ( Filipino: ''Paliparan ng Mandurriao'', Hiligaynon: ''Hulugpaan sang Mandurriao''), also known as Iloilo Airport during its operation, was the main airport serving the area of Iloilo City and the province of Iloilo in the P ...
,
Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on the island of Panay. It is the capital city of ...
. On May 11, 1990, at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport the
Boeing 737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...
(C/N 24466, MSN 1771) assigned to the route suffered an explosion in the central fuel tank and was consumed by fire in as little as four minutes.


Accident

The air temperature had been high at the time of the accident, about , while the Boeing 737-300 was parked at Manila. The air conditioning packs, located beneath the center wing fuel tank of the 737, had been running on the ground before pushback (approximately 30 to 45 minutes). The center wing fuel tank, which had not been filled in two months, likely contained some fuel vapors. Shortly after pushback a powerful explosion in the center fuel tank pushed the cabin floor violently upward. The wing tanks ruptured, causing the airplane to burst into flames. The majority of the 114 passengers and 6 crew escaped via the emergency chutes, which had been deployed following the blast. Several passengers reported as many as three explosions in the plane, and Oscar Alejandro, then director of the Philippine Air Transport Office, confirmed the engines had not been started at the time of the blasts. It is thought the vapors ignited due to damaged wiring, because no bomb, incendiary device, or detonator had been found at the scene. The airline had fitted logo lights after delivery which required passing additional wires through the vapor seals in the fuel tanks. The
NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
recommended to the FAA that an
Airworthiness Directive An Airworthiness Directive (commonly abbreviated as AD) is a notification to owners and operators of certified aircraft that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be correct ...
be issued requiring inspections of the fuel boost pumps, float switch, and wiring looms because signs of chafing had been found. The FAA declined to issue the Airworthiness Directive.


Casualties

There were 8 fatalities, including one child, while another 82 people were treated for smoke inhalation and other injuries at the airport clinic. There were no ground fatalities or injuries from the explosion.


See also

*
TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...
*
Thai Airways International Flight 114 Thai Airways International Flight 114, a Thai Airways International Boeing 737-400 bound for Chiang Mai from Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok, was destroyed by an explosion of the center fuel tank resulting from ignition of the flammable fuel/air m ...


References

{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1990 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1990 Aviation accidents and incidents in the Philippines Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Classic History of Metro Manila Philippine Airlines accidents and incidents 1990 disasters in the Philippines May 1990 events in Asia