Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The bodies of a pilot and his student on board a trainer flight that crashed on Friday were retrieved in Santiago, Ilocos Sur on Saturday morning, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said.
CAAP identified the two people on board the Cessna C172 with registry number RP-C7838 as Capt. John Kaizan Estabillo and flight attendant and student pilot Paola Vianca Robles.
The aircraft operated by Leading Edge Intl. Aviation crashed near the Vitalis Resort along the coastline of Santiago, Ilocos Sur Friday afternoon.
The aircraft was conducting a touch and go procedure at the Vigan Airport and was supposed to be back in its homebase in San Fernando airport in La Union at 4:24 p.m. Friday when the accident happened. CAAP said initial reports showed the aircraft got caught on a zipline cable causing it to crash land.
CAAP’s lead investigators, Col. Bert Dulay and Raineer Baculinao, are currently conducting the inquiry and investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
The bodies of Estabillo and Robles were brought to the Candon General Hospital for autopsy.
