MANILA, Philippines -- The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) confirmed Saturday that they are looking for another Cessna plane that went missing in Bicol.
On board the small aircraft are four individuals: a pilot, co-pilot, and two passengers.
In a memorandum, CAAP said the 6-seater Cessna (Caravan) 340 with tail number RP-C2080 took off at Bicol International Airport at 6:43 a.m. of February 18, while the aircraft was abeam Camalig Bypass Road.
The twin piston engine plane was supposed to land in Manila at 7:53 a.m. but lost its communication with the tower.
The last contact of the Cessna 340 is with Legazpi approach, or three minutes after it took off.
CAAP said that the Air Traffic Systems of nearby towers did a communication search of the plane but there was no response.
Concerned agencies and authorities such as the local government unit of Camalig, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Coast Guard, Office of Civil Defense, and National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council have been informed about the incident and are coordinating with CAAP in the search and rescue operations for the aircraft.
CAAP said they have also dispatched officers from its Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board to assist in the emergency that is now in Distress Phase.
Meanwhile, the Cessna 206 is yet to be found in the mountains of Sierra Madre.
The Isabela Incident Management Team said that they have narrowed down their search based on the detected cell phones of the passengers.
In January 24, the passengers’ phones rang hours after it took off from Cauayan Domestic Airport.
The phones were detected by a cell tower in Maconacon, Isabela where they were supposed to land.
The PDRRMC Isabela presented a map indicating areas where phone signals are present.
They are now eliminating areas without phone connection. Isabela Incident Management Team remain hopeful that the five passengers and pilot are alive and well as they continue to tag their mission as ‘search and rescue.’