Missing pilot was to fly lead plane at PAF anniversary rites Monday

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Air Force pilot Jonathan Ybanez was supposed to be the pilot of the lead aircraft of the group of OV-10 Broncos that was to fly-by for President Benigno Aquino III and other dignitaries on Monday (July 1) in celebration of the 66th founding anniversary.

But Ybanez and his copilot, Lt. Abner Trust Nacion, remain missing a week after their Bronco crashed off Palawan.

“Major Ybanez should be in Clark for the Air Force anniversary,” a source assisting the pilots’ families told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sunday. “He should have been in the lead of around four or five OV-10s joining the other Air Force planes while the ceremonies are ongoing on the ground.”

That was the plan. But following the crash, the Air Force grounded all its other Broncos pending an investigation. A back ride in the planes for the media to allow photojournalists to record a top view of the ceremonies was cancelled as a precaution.

Also, Tropical Storm “Gorio” has forced the PAF to prepare for changes in the anniversary program on Monday. The fly-by will depend on the weather.

In Palawan, the families of Ybanez and Nacion have been restless, with some of them frustrated at what they felt to be the “slow-paced” search for the pilots, the source said.

Both Ybanez and Nacion belong to the 15th Strike Wing based in Sangley, Cavite. They had been out on a night proficiency test flight and were reportedly making their way back to Puerto Princesa when the accident happened.

“Since Tuesday afternoon, all that has happened was the sonar equipment was doing scans underwater. There’s been no significant progress,” the source said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

Debris from the plane was found a day after the crash, but the search has not found the pilots.

“Each day that goes by lessens the chances of survival of the pilots. Where the body of the aircraft is remains the hanging question to their families. Finding the fuselage answers the question of whether or not the pilots were able to eject,” the source said.

If the pilots were not in the wreckage, at the least the search for them could already move to the islets and shorelines in the area, the source added.

While the families are satisfied with the deployment of personnel working round the clock, they are frustrated with the equipment being used for the search operations.

They feel that using more state-of-the-art equipment could hasten the search for their loved ones.

Ybanez, 32, is father to two young boys and an infant daughter.

Nacion, in his mid-20s, had just married.

A few days ago, the sonar detected what looked like the wreckage of a Bronco but confirmation dives by the Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG) showed that it was only a coral formation.

On Sunday, a helicopter was supposed to search for the pilots in the islets and shorelines but the storm halted the operations, the source said.

Sought for comment, the PAF spokesperson, Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol, said he understood the “anguish” of the pilots’ families.

“If we are in their situation, we would also feel that others are not doing anything but the Air Force is doing everything it can,” Okol said.

Okol said that the Air Force has been in touch with some agencies with equipment that could detect objects in deeper parts of the sea, and has been hoping that this equipment could be lent to the search team.

Okol acknowledged that a “reasonable time when the pilots should have resurfaced has already lapsed.” But nobody should lose hope just yet, he said.

The families of Ybanez and Nacion are hanging on to every shred of hope.

Ybanez’s experience and training make him fit for any kind of situation. Aside from being a pilot, he has been trained as a combat officer as well, the source said.

His family believes that if Ybanez was in a “normal state” (meaning he did not bump his head and lose consciousness), he would have been able to eject himself from a falling aircraft.

Nacion is a strong swimmer and has been in top form all these years, his friends told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“Until they do not see the pilots for themselves, in what ever condition, the families still hope things will turn out fine,” the source said.