PAF could not get close enough to plane wreckage in Isabela

INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

CAUAYAN CITY — Local government authorities have found the Piper Cherokee plane in the forests in Isabela province five days after it went missing on Nov. 30.

“The Philippine Air Force Sokol helicopter found the Piper plane. However, the chopper cannot get close enough to determine the condition of the occupants,” Incident Management Team spokesperson Joshua Hapinat told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

Lawyer Constante Foronda, incident management team commander, said they were “deeply engaged in planning the next move.”

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has also been waiting for reports from the field.

Marlyn Sagorsor, CAAP North Luzon manager, said the Aircraft Accident and Inquiry Board investigators had been on the ground and had yet to give official reports.

The Piper PA-32-300 plane, owned by Fliteline Airways and operated by Cyclone Airways, departed Cauayan Airport at 9:39 a.m. and was supposed to arrive at Palanan Airport at 10:23 a.m. on Nov. 30.

The status of its pilot, Captain Levy Abul II and lone passenger Erma Escalante, a 43-year-old barangay health worker in Palanan has yet to be known. INQ

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