Facts:
On November 23, 1960, Conrada Vda. de Abeto and her children, as plaintiffs-appellees and heirs of the deceased, sought damages arising from the death of Judge Quirico Abeto, who boarded
Philippine Air Lines, Incorporated aircraft, PI-C133, at Mandurriao Airport, Iloilo City, with the necessary tickets. Judge Quirico Abeto was listed as the No. 18 passenger in the plane’s Load Manifest. The flight was scheduled to reach Manila after about two hours, but the plane did not arrive and was later reported missing. After three weeks, it was ascertained that the aircraft crashed at Mt. Baco, Province of Mindoro, and that all passengers, including Judge Abeto, must have been killed instantly. Among the articles recovered from the crash site was a leather bag bearing Judge Abeto’s name. Prior to the accident, Judge Abeto, then seventy-nine years old, was in good health and had been a Technical Assistant in the Office of the President with annual compensation of P7,200.00, with prior government service including Municipal President of Iloilo, Provincial Fiscal, Judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila, and Secretary of Justice. Plaintiff-appellee Conrada Vda. de Abeto was appointed administratrix of Judge Abeto’s estate. She testified to shock, sleeplessness, and inability to eat until the news was confirmed three weeks after the disappearance, and she alleged that the family suffered as well; claimed lost personal belongings totaled P300.00 and burial expenses were P1,700.00. When
Philippine Air Lines, Incorporated refused to settle, plaintiffs were compelled to hire counsel to institute and prosecute the case. In the Court of First Instance of Iloilo, defendant-appellant asserted that the crash was beyond the pilot’s control, relying on proof that the aircraft was air-worthy through a certificate of airworthiness issued by the Civil Aeronautics Administration, and on alleged compliance with extensive pre-flight and maintenance checks as part of its quality control, including navigational error allegedly caused by bad weather and strong winds that drifted the aircraft to Mt. Baco. The trial court rejected these defenses and found negligence, holding that the evidence showed the airline failed to exercise the
extraordinary diligence required by law, including findings that the pilot disobeyed the route “Amber 1” prescribed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration, failed to perform a pre-flight test to detect possible defects, allowed a student officer to be in the cockpit with the microphone hanging still on his left leg, and failed to report position over or abeam Romblon at a compulsory reporting point. The trial court awarded damages for death, loss of earning capacity for 4.75 years at P7,200.00 per annum, moral damages, actual damages for certain amounts net of voucher receipt, and attorney’s fees, with costs. On appeal,
Philippine Air Lines, Incorporated argued that the trial court erred in finding it negligent, in not finding that it exercised the degree of diligence required, in awarding damages, and in not finding good faith and efforts to minimize damages, while plaintiffs maintained that the airline was liable under the contract of carriage and the presumptions under the Civil Code.
Issues:
Whether
Philippine Air Lines, Incorporated can be held liable for the death of Judge Quirico Abeto under the Civil Code provisions governing the liability of common carriers for passenger deaths, and whether the trial court correctly awarded damages.
Ruling:
Ratio:
Doctrine: