Jardine Aviation apologizes to Philippine Airlines

The ground services provider for Philippine Airlines in Hong Kong has apologized to the flag carrier for an incident that caused damage to a PAL Airbus A320-200 at Hong Kong International Airport last Oct. 30.

"We deeply regret the incident and inconvenience caused to your passengers," said Allan Kwong, deputy general manager of Jardine Aviation Services, in a letter to PAL. "We are deeply concerned and will seriously address this shortcoming on aircraft safety with top priority."

The incident occurred when PAL flight PR 319, bound for Manila, was about to load cargo. The ramp loader operator tried to readjust the conveyor-belt boom to align with the aircraft cargo door. But he misjudged the distance and inadvertently caused the loader to hit the aircraft fuselage.

The impact damaged the fuselage and forced the overnight grounding of the airplane in Hong Kong for repairs. PAL was compelled to transfer the affected passengers to other flights, at its expense.

Kwong said initial findings revealed that the loader "leaped forward" by about five feet, which could be due to either mechanical failure of the equipment or human error on the part of the operator.

The Hong Kong airport authority is conducting a full investigation of the incident and Jardine Aviation said it would institute remedial action on its ramp handling procedures once the official inquiry is completed.

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