Aircraft goes missing in Isabela —CAAP

An aircraft, along with its pilot and one passenger, has been reported missing in Isabela, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Friday.

The Piper PA-32-300 of Fliteline Airways and operated by Cyclone Airways has been missing since Thursday, according to CAAP.

It departed Cauayan Airport at 9:39 a.m. and was supposed to arrive at Palanan Airport at 10:23 a.m. on November 30,  2023.

“The last communication of the aircraft with Cauayan Tower was around 9:50 a.m. Thursday morning,” CAAP said in statement.

“Its last known position was the last blip from the aircraft as captured by Flight Radar 24 which is about 29.09 NM east of Cauayan Airport at 10:00 a.m.,” it added.

A distress message was received by the CAAP Operations Center from the Cauayan Tower at around 11:08 a.m. on Thursday.

Meanwhile, no Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) distress alert has been received by Philippine Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center (PARCC) from the missing aircraft, CAAP said.

Military and civilian groups are also holding communication searches for any possible sighting of the missing aircraft, according to CAAP. 

CAAP investigators from the Aircraft Accident and Inquiry Investigation Board (AAIIB) went to Cauayan Airport for an investigation as search and rescue units are already being prepared to look for the missing aircraft with registry number RP-C1234.

Due to the incident, CAAP said Cauayan Airport and Tower extended operations on Thursday until 6 p.m. and opened early on Friday at 6 a.m. to activate search and rescue operations.

CAAP said in an update that the police, Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, local disaster risk reduction and management office, and local governments are working together to search for the aircraft.

In January, a Cessna aircraft carrying six passengers also went missing in Isabela. The plane's wreckage was found almost a month later in Barangay Ditarum, Divilacan, with no survivors.

Another Cessna plane was also reported missing in February in Bicol. The plane was carrying four people. The wreckage was found a few days later on the west side slope of Mayon Volcano.

A Cessna plane carrying two passengers also went missing in Cagayan in August. There were also no survivors —VAL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News