Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 1) — A small plane with two people on board went missing shortly after leaving Cauyan Airport in Isabela Thursday morning.
In a statement on Friday, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said a Piper PA-32-300 aircraft with tail number RP-C1234 was bound for Palanan Airport, also in Isabela.
It was supposed to arrive at around 10:23 a.m., but the plane lost communication. It was last detected by a flight radar at 10 a.m., CAAP added.
It added that the Philippine Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center did not receive an Emergency Locator Transmitter distress alert, but the CAAP Operations Center from the Cauayan Tower received a distress message on Thursday.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ News Night on Friday evening, Isabela’s disaster management head Constante Foronda said that when authorities examined the data, the plane was last recorded somewhere in San Mariano but still had a ground speed of 89 knots, or around 160 kilometers per hour. He added it was recorded at 3,300 feet in altitude.
San Mariano is located between where the two airports are situated, which makes it a possible location for the missing plane.
\”Ibig sabihin airborne ‘yong eroplano no’ng tumigil sa flight radar tracking,\” the provincial disaster management official explained. \”Hindi sa point na ‘yon nag-end up ‘yong missing aircraft, it’s somewhere east or towards Palanan.\”
[Translation: It means the plane was still airborne when the Flightradar tracking stopped. The missing aircraft did not end up on that point, it’s somewhere east or towards Palanan.]
\”Search and Rescue units are now being organized. Cauayan Airport and Tower extended operations yesterday (Thursday) until 6 p.m. and opened early at 6 a.m. to activate search and rescue operations,\” CAAP earlier said.
CAAP also said the Philippine National Police and the Palanan government deployed personnel to investigate in Barangay Casala and Sitio Dipadsangan, respectively, both in San Mariano, Isabela.
Foronda said the search area for the missing Piper plane seems smaller than the area for the missing Cessna plane in January, as they would start their search from the last point based on record and would follow the supposed flight route.
He said the 32-member search team from San Mariano has no sightings yet of the missing plane, as of the latest reports.
Meanwhile, the 44-member search team from Palanan, which included authorities and indigenous peoples, are hoping to have sighting reports while on the way to the last blip point, Foronda said.
Northern and Central Luzon have been experiencing bad weather this week due to the northeast monsoon or amihan, but authorities have yet to determine the factors that contributed to the plane’s disappearance.
Strong winds that may have pushed the plane during its flight can be among them, Foronda said.
In January, a Cessna plane carrying 6 passengers disappeared in Isabela. After 44 days it was reported missing, the aircraft was found around a mountain slope with no survivors.
