By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

A SEVEN-SEAT Freedom Air plane carrying passengers from Tinian was damaged while landing at the Saipan airport runway yesterday.
The plane was piloted by Walter Werchan and the incident happened at 7:55 a.m.
None of the passengers were hurt, according to Commonwealth Ports Authority acting Executive Director Stanley Torres Jr.
He said while landing on runway no. 7, the Cherokee 6300’s nose gear collapsed.
“There was no fire and no injuries…just minor damage to the plane’s propellers,” Torres told the media in a press briefing at his office.
He said the aircraft has been removed from the site and is now undergoing checks and repairs at the airline’s maintenance facility.
According to Torres, the “minor incident” did not cause any damage to the airport’s runway.
But he said reports, including photos of the incident, were sent to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board for investigation.
“The NTSB and the FAA have been notified and we’re awaiting future instructions from them in connection with the ongoing investigation,” Torres said, adding that CPA operations, its Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting unit and Freedom Air personnel immediately secured the aircraft and towed it off the runway at approximately 8:30 yesterday.
“A runway safety check has been conducted,” he said.
In an interview, Freedom Air Saipan operations manager Dennis K. Cruz said the plane had six passengers — five female locals and one male statesider.
“Three of them already flew to Guam this morning onboard a 10 a.m. flight,” Cruz said, adding that the flight was delayed for an hour as a result of the earlier incident on the airport’s runway.
Cruz said besides the airport rescue firefighters who responded to the incident, the local Red Cross also arrived at the scene to make sure that the passengers were “safe and well.”
Freedom Air has 5 aircraft servicing Tinian and Saipan, Cruz said.
The Cherokee 6300, he added, like their other planes, is regularly checked and maintained by the company.
“The aircraft is not old,” he told Variety, adding that this was the first time it had been involved in such an incident.