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Heroic Captain Of Philippine Airlines
Pal Flight 434 Captain Eduardo Reyes
Have you heard of the
heroic Captain Eduardo Reyes? Captain Ed was a pilot who saved Philippine
Airlines Flight 434 and its passengers.
That fateful day of
December 11, 1994, Captain Ed was flying PAL Flight 434 en route to Tokyo from
the Philippines.
He had just assured
the passengers of "a beautiful day in Tokyo" when there was later on
a sudden violent explosion.
A notorious terrorist
had gotten on board in Manila, left an improvised bomb underneath his seat, and
disembarked in the Cebu stop (the terrorist Ramzi Yousef would later be
convicted for the Flight 434 bombing and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing).
The explosion killed
the Japanese man directly seated above the bomb and injured 10 more in the
surrounding seats.
Luckily, the aircraft
skin was not compromised or they would have been sucked out. However, vital
controls were damaged.
The plane did not
respond to left, right, up and down controls and they needed to make a turn and
make an emergency landing at Naha Airport.
The captain and his
crew tried different tactics even going so far as disengaging autopilot and
going on manual control.
However, the
explosion had damaged the ailerons (for turning left and right), the elevators
(for climb and descent) and the rudders. Captain Ed and crew tried emergency
procedures in their QRH (pilot's bible) but nothing worked.
Finally, the captain
decided to try using the plane's thrusters to turn. This was not in their
handbook.
It was a feat of
skill to turn and land the plane in its damaged state.
Flight Engineer
Dexter Comendador monitored their speed while co-pilot Jimmy Herrera was
pushing and pulling the elevator controls as per the captain's orders.
At one point, Herrera
had both feet up on the instrument panel as the captain commanded "pull
some more.”
A few feet above
touchdown, the captain gave his last command to "PULL" as he guided
the plane down successfully.
The passengers, who had
already written their last wills and letters to loved ones all clapped in
thanksgiving.
Captain Ed would
recall that at the time of the explosion, his thought was "God forgive me,
I am going to die.” Instead, he saved the lives of 272 passengers and 20 crew
members.
Later, Captain Ed
bravely stood as witness to the trial of Ramzi Yousef. His testimony in the
1996 trial helped to put one of the world's most dangerous terrorists in prison
for life.
Captain Ed Reyes put down his wings in 2002 and passed away of prostate cancer
on the eve of Valentines day 2007.
Sources: New York Daily News, National Geographic
documentary "Bomb on Board" on Mayday show series, Wind Beneath My
Wings by Phlippine Amateur Radiio Association
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