PAL vs.
CA plane, the evidence shows that overshooting of the
Facts:
Private respondent Jesus Samson was a regular co-
pilot of PAL. During one of his flights from Manila to
Legazpi with Captain Delfin Bustamante, they made
a crash landing at Daet where Samson suffered
physical injuries in the head. Samson alleges that
the accident was due to the gross negligence of PAL
in allowing Bustamante who was suffering from a
long standing tumor of the Nasopharynx but was
also allowed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration
to fly as a co-pilot; and that because of the tumor
Bustamante has a slow reaction and poor judgment.
Issue:
WON PAL was negligent as a common carrier in
allowing Bustamante to fly as a First Officer the day
of the accident. Or, WON the same carrier is liable
for the accident even if Bustamante was not sick.
Held: YES and YES.
For having allowed Bustamante to fly as a First
Officer on January 8, 1951, defendant is guilty of
gross negligence and therefore should be made
liable for the resulting accident.
(Even) assuming that the pilot was not sick or that
the tumor did not affect the pilot in managing the
runway and crash-landing at the mangrove was
caused by the pilot for which acts the defendant
must answer for damages caused thereby. And for
the negligence of defendant’s employee, it is
liable. At least, the law presumes the employer
negligent imposing upon it the burden of proving
that it exercised the diligence of a good father of a
family in the supervision of its employees.
As defined in Art. 1732, NCC, petitioner is a
common carrier. The law is clear in requiring a
common carrier to exercise the highest degree of
care in the discharge of its duty and business of
carriage and transportation under Art. 1733, 1755
and 1756, NCC.
The duty to exercise the utmost diligence on the
part of common carriers is for the safety of
passengers as well as for the members of the crew
or the complement operating the carrier, the
airplane in the case at bar. And this must be so for
any omission, lapse or neglect thereof will certainly
result to the damage, prejudice, nay injuries and
even death to all aboard the plane, passengers and
crew members alike.