Missing Cessna plane found in Isabela town; pilot, 5 passengers dead

>> Tuesday, March 21, 2023

CAUAYAN CITY -- The Isabela Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office on Thursday confirmed the missing Cessna aircraft has been found after searching for more than a month.
    However, the Isabela Incident Management Team said the pilot and five passengers on board did not survive the plane crash as their remains were found in Barangay Ditarum, Divilacan, Isabela Thursday, March 9.
    Killed were six passengers on board, including the pilot in the crashed Cessna RPC 1174 identified as pilot Captain Eleazar Mark Joven and passengers Tommy Manday, Val Kamatoy, Mark Eiron Siguerra, Xam Siguerra and Josefa Perla EspaƱa.
    Rescuers were working to bring down the remains at press time which could take at least three days, officials said.
    A search team found the plane within the 20-km radius of the Maconacon Airport where it was heading to on Jan. 24, said Isabela IMT head Constante Foronda.
    Foronda added that a former official from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines will visit the crash site to investigate the incident.
    “Hopefully they can go there themselves so they can see with their own eyes the wreckage and make a more accurate determination and conclusion,” Foronda said.
    The CAAP earlier reported the six-seater Cessna C206 plane with tail number RPC 1174 took off from Cauayan Airport in Isabela and about half an hour into its flight, the aircraft failed to respond to the CAAP flight monitoring team, as it was supposed to arrive at 2:45 p.m. in Maconacon town.
    It did not reach its destination.
    Isabela PDRRMO said the weather was clear when the plane left Cauayan Airport, but the wind went turbulent around the mountain range of Sierra Madre.
    It backed the report that a witness saw the plane spiraling down in the Sierra Madre mountains.
    The CAAP earlier said that all Cessna planes in the Philippines passed mandatory requirements set by the government before they were allowed to fly.
    The plane was supposed to land at 3 p.m. on Jan. 24, but did not reach its destination.
    Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesperson Eric Apolonio earlier said around 3:17 p.m. that Tuesday, they received a report that a C206 Plane identified as RPC1174 did not arrive at its intended destination at Maconacon Airport.
    The plane departed from Cauayan Airport at 2:15 p.m. and its last contact with the air traffic controller was at 2:19 p.m. when it was within the vicinity of Naguillian Bridge.
The plane was expected to arrive at Maconacon at 2:45 p.m.
    "At 03:15 p.m. communication search was initiated by Cauayan Tower. Due to lack of response from     RPC1174, Alert Level was elevated and search and rescue commenced at around 4:00 p.m." Apolonio said.
    Authorities searched and conducted rescue op for the missing Cessna 206 aircraft until it was found Thursday. -- With wire reports

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