Marcos’ Plane Nearly Collides With Another at Small Airstrip

A plane carrying President Ferdinand E. Marcos to a campaign rally narrowly missed colliding with an air force plane Saturday when both planes tried to land at the same time from opposite ends of an airstrip with no control tower.

The incident occurred in full view of reporters and officials who arrived ahead of Marcos in Calapan, on Mindoro Island about 85 miles south of Manila, for a rally promoting his candidacy in the Feb. 7 special election.

Marcos’ twin-turboprop Beechcraft Super King Air had just touched down at one end of the 3,300-foot airstrip when waiting reporters and officials spotted the air force Cessna carrying security men coming in to land at the other end. Several security men rushed forward waving, and one ran to the middle of the grass strip, wildly waving his cap at the Cessna, which pulled up to go around.

The Philippine News Agency said Marcos was not aware of the near-collision. It said the Cessna was making its second attempt to land and its crew did not notice Marcos’ plane because of low clouds and poor visibility. Marcos’ wife, Imelda, and running mate Arturo Tolentino had already arrived in another aircraft.

Marcos was driven into town, where he addressed about 4,000 people. Holding a microphone with a bandaged left hand, Marcos said his hand had bled at a Thursday rally in Pangasinan province because of a scratch.

Thursday’s bleeding, the bandages and strips that observers have seen on his hands during the last several months and the fact that Marcos has been carried on-stage on the shoulders of aides at most campaign rallies have sparked new speculation about his health.

Marcos, 68, is rumored to be suffering from an incurable disease called lupus erythemathosus that ravages the kidneys and other organs. He has acknowledged serious illnesses in 1983 and 1985, but says he suffered on those occasions from a combination of allergies, viral infections, asthma and the effects of World War II injuries.