6 onboard missing Cessna plane in Isabela identified

The six people on board a Cessna plane that went missing in Isabela on Tuesday have been identified, according to a report on GMA News' Unang Balita on Wednesday.

On board the missing Cessna RPC 1174 are pilot Captain Eleazar Mark Joven and passengers Tommy Manday, Val Kamatoy, Mark Eiron Siguerra, Xam Siguerra, and Josefa Perla España.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) spokesperson Eric Apolonio said around 3:17 p.m. on Tuesday, they received a report that a C206 Plane identified as RPC1174 did not arrive at its intended destination at Maconacon Airport.

The plane departed from Cauayan Airport at 2:15 p.m. and its last contact with the air traffic controller was at 2:19 p.m. when it was within the vicinity of Naguillian Bridge.

The plane was expected to arrive at Maconacon at 2:45 p.m.

"At 03:15 p.m. communication search was initiated by Cauayan Tower. Due to lack of response from RPC1174, Alert Level was elevated and search and rescue commenced at around 4:00 p.m." Apolonio told GMA News Online in a message.

"Due to the negative result of the communication search, Alert Level was raised to Distress Phase at 04:12 p.m. which prompted a full scale search and rescue which is still on going at this time," he added.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Isabela Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said the weather was clear when the plane left Cauayan Airport, but the wind around Sierra Madre was reportedly "turbulent."

"Clear naman po 'yung [panahon] kahapon... Hindi ko lang po alam kung doon po sa bandang tapat ng Sierra Madre kung kumusta po yung weather doon," Isabela PDDRMO head Constante Foronda said.

"Pero may natatanggap po kaming sabi na medyo turbulent 'yung hangin po doon sa bandang Sierra Madre,” he added.

(The weather was clear... but I don't know if it extends to the Sierra Madre area. But we received a report that the wind in Sierra Madre was turbulent.)

An incident management team has been created to focus on locating the missing plane, according to Foronda.

Authorities could not expand the search throughout the Sierra Madre due to bad weather on Tuesday. The search and rescue operations resumed on Wednesday. —KBK, GMA Integrated News