government

Officials say report faked

Maydée Romero/LA PRENSA

burning issue: Government officials have launched an investigation into how an allegedly counterfeited report detailing problems with SAN-100 was released to the public. 1081021

The government announced yesterday that the Ministerio Público has started an investigation into the alleged falsification and distribution of a report by President Martín Torrijos' personal pilot into problems he experienced with SAN-100 a year before it crashed in Calidonia.

The government said the report, which was published Monday by La Prensa, is not the original filed by Alexis Camarena after the incident in February of 2007. Camarena has also denied that the version that appeared in La Prensa is the original version of his report. He made that statement before prosecutors investigating the May 2008 crash of the helicopter in Calidonia that killed 11 people.

The report documented an emergency landing that Camarena had to execute in Veraguas when SAN-100 experienced hydraulic problems. In both the report obtained by La Prensa and the one that the government said is the official report, Camarena stated that the aircraft should not be used to transport dignitaries.

One difference between the two reports, however, is that in the government's version, Camarena does not refer to the aircraft's age as being an issue. In the report obtained by La Prensa, he states that the helicopter, which went into service in the early 1970s, experienced difficulties despite the best efforts of the maintenance crew.

Government officials also described La Prensa as “irresponsible” for printing the report without verifying its authenticity.

President Martín Torrijos described the publishing of the report as “serious and worrying.”

In a statement on its front page yesterday, La Prensa stated that Servicio Aéreo Nacional (SAN) officials refused to discuss the report. The government’s version was only released after La Prensa published its story.

The newspaper’s president wrote that La Prensa did not alter the document, which it received from SAN officials.

Prosecutors plan to interview La Prensa reporter Santiago Fascetto, as well as SAN Operations Director Carlos Greco.

Chancellor Samuel Lewis Navarro said that the report appeared to be altered in order to “shame” the government.

Navarro met yesterday with the Chilean ambassador to Panama, Juan de Dios Gutiérrez, to deliver a copy of the original report. Among those killed in the Calidonia crash were members of a delegation from Chile, including the head of the country's police force, José Alejandro Bernales.

Chilean officials met yesterday to discuss the situation, saying that they are “concerned” that a report was made expressing concerns about the helicopter's safety.

“We want to get to the bottom of this, and we want the investigation to be carried out in a transparent manner,” Gutiérrez said.