Possible wreckage of missing Cessna plane spotted —Isabela PIO

An object that could be debris from the missing Cessna plane was spotted by residents near Barangay Sapinit in Divilacan, Isabela, according to Isabela Provincial Information Office administrative officer Joshua Hapinat on Sunday.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, Hapinat said that a rescue team has already been dispatched to verify the given information.

“Sa ngayon, meron akong na-receive na information as of 6:45 a.m., 'yung mga tao daw po malapit du'n sa 25-kilometer malapit sa Ilagan-Divilacan Road, may na-spot daw po sila na object that could be a wreckage na po sa mountain side near du'n sa Sapinit,” he said.

(Today, I received information as of 6:45 a.m., that people 25-kilometers near the Ilagan-Divilacan Road said they spotted an object that could be a wreckage of the plane on the mountain side near Sapinit.)

“Hindi pa detailed ang nasabi but it could be a wreckage po.”

(The information was not detailed but it could be a wreckage.)

On Friday, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said that a white object was sighted in Barangay Dicaruyan, Divilacan, Isabela during a search and rescue operation for the missing Cessna plane.

PDRRMO head Constante Foronda said the area where the object was sighted was consistent with the hints they have on the possible location of the missing plane including an account of a farmer, a passenger’s phone, and a report of a sound allegedly coming from an aircraft.

Hapinat said that the ground search for Cessna RPC 1174 and its six passengers would continue on Sunday and the focus would be on the mountain side near Barangay Sapinit.

However, he said it is still uncertain if the choppers would be able to take off within the day given the bad weather on the northern part of Sierra Madre.

For its part, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) had already asked the Hong Kong Mission Control Center (HKMCC) and Japan Mission Control Center (JAMCC) for help in the search and rescue operations.

Based on a report of dzBB’s Mao dela Cruz, CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio coordinated with counterparts in Japan and Hong Kong to review their respective systems for “distress alert” from the RPC1174.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), humingi ng tulong sa Hong Kong Mission Control Center (HKMCC) at Japan Mission Control Center (JAMCC) para sa paghananap sa nawawalang 6-seater Cessna plane sa Isabela. | via Mao dela Cruz pic.twitter.com/lugiME4Rgi

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) January 28, 2023

However, both of them responded “no detection” based on their emergency locator transmitters, according to Apolonio.

CAAP also extended the schedule of their operations and the opening of the Cauayan airport for the search and rescue team.

Two investigators from the CAAP Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board are also on standby for deployment once the missing plane is found.

The plane went missing after taking off from the Cauayan airport in Isabela on Tuesday afternoon. —KG, GMA Integrated News