Passenger of crashed Piper plane 'appears to have survived' —Isabela PDRRMO

The pilot of the Piper plane that crashed in Isabela was found dead on Thursday, Isabela Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said.

“Around 11:00am today, the rescuers that were dispatched yesterday have reached the wreckage of the Piper plane. Sadly, the pilot was found lifeless,” Isabela PDRRMO head Constante Foronda said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Foronda said the lone passenger was not found in the vicinity but “she appears to have survived the crash as indicated by a makeshift shelter that she presumably put up near the wreckage.”

If the weather permits, Foronda said the rescuers on Friday will bring the remains of the pilot to a helicopter landing zone and transport it to Cauayan City.

K9 trackers were being fetched to the Tactical Operations Group 2 and will be flown near the wreckage.

“Starting at the site of the wreckage, the K9 trackers will then follow the path that the passenger took through the scent that she left on the vegetation that she passed by,” Foronda said.

Initially reported missing, the Piper plane was found on Tuesday in the vicinity of Barangay Casala in San Mariano municipality.

The aircraft went missing along with its pilot and one passenger on November 30.

The Piper PA-32-300 of Fliteline Airways, which was operated by Cyclone Airways, departed Cauayan Airport at 9:39 a.m. on November 30 and was supposed to arrive at Palanan Airport at 10:23 a.m. on the same day. —Joviland Rita/KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News