Search for missing passenger in Isabela plane crash to continue

Rescuers will continue to search for the missing passenger of the Piper plane that crashed in Isabela on November 30, an official said Saturday.

They will use K9 trackers to help locate the passenger, Isabela Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Atty. Constante Foronda said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

"Hopefully, the weather will allow the Philippine Air Force to fly back to the crash site para ibaba 'yung mga aso, ang mga K9 tracker dogs. 'Yun ang nakikita naming paraan para mahanap ang pasahero," Foronda said.

(Hopefully, the weather will allow the Philippine Air Force to fly back to the crash site to bring the dogs, the K9 tracker dogs. That is the way we can find the passenger.)

"Malawak 'yung lugar (the area is wide). The passenger could have gone towards any direction," he added.

The aircraft, which had a pilot and one passenger on board, was first reported missing in Isabela on November 30.

The Piper PA-32-300 of 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 November 30.

Authorities found the plane with registration number RPC 1234 in the vicinity of Barangay Casala in San Mariano municipality on Tuesday morning, December 5.

The pilot was found dead on Thursday, Isabela PDRRMO said.

However, the woman passenger appears to have survived, authorities said.

"Nakausap namin 'yung mga rescuer na nakaabot mismo doon. Nakabalik na sila sa Cauayan kahapon. Inalam natin kung ano ang nakita nilang proof of life. May gumawa daw ng parang silong, parang trapal na isinabit. Tapos mayroon pang ginawang parang higaan at mayroon pa pong tumbler doon sa may tabi ng mattress na parang ginawa," Foronda said.

(We talked to the rescuers who reached the crash site. They returned to Cauayan yesterday. We asked about any proof of life. They said someone made a makeshift shelter. Then there was a makeshift bed and there was even a tumbler beside the mattress that was made.)

"Proof of life nga po talaga dahil wala talagang gagawa nu'n kundi 'yung pasahero lamang. Uninhabited talaga ito. No one would go there... Bagong gawa ['yung silong at higaan]. Nanggaling du'n sa eroplano ang mga materyales na ginamit," he added, also saying that the makeshift shelter was found near the plane wreckage.

(It is indeed a proof of life because no one else would make that; only the passenger would. The area is uninhabited. The shelter and sleeping area was newly made using materials from the plane.)

"Ang gusto namin malaman kung merong senyales na nabuhay ang pasahero," Foronda said.

(We want to know if there are signs that the passenger survived.)

The Isabela PDRRMO head said handlers will let K9 trackers smell the clothes of the passenger retrieved from the plane and also given by the family.

"'Yun yung magiging basehan ng scent na ipapaamoy sa mga aso. Talagang trained naman ang mga aso na ganu'n ang gagawin. 'Yung mga natatapakan na trail ng scent na hindi nade-detect ng human olfactory nerves, nasusundan ng mga aso. 'Yun po ang susundan nila," Foronda said.

(Those will be the basis of the scent that tracker dogs will follow. They are trained to do that. Human olfactory nerves will not be able to detect the scent on a trail, but dogs would.)

He added that the crash site is rich in vegetation and there is the weather to contend with, with cold temperature and thick fog.

"Ang sabi ng mga rescuers (Rescuers said), there is no way the passenger could have gone down without sitting down. Uupo siya at magdadaus-dos. Dikit-dikit 'yung ng mga puno. Matter of inches lang 'yung space na dadaanan... Masikip talaga. Makapal talaga. Kita sa video. Ganun kasukal. Wala pong nagpupunta doon," Foronda said.

(The passenger would have to sit and slide down. The trees are very close to each other, with only inches apart. It is really dense, as can be seen in the video. No one goes there.)

The passenger is 43 years old and paid air fare to travel from Cauayan to Palanan to have medical checkup, he added.

"It is still a mystery how the passenger survived," Foronda said.

Isabela Governor Rodito Albano has given instructions to the team not to stop search operations until the missing passenger is found, he added.

"Ang tingin namin, within hours, sa akin pong palagay, mahahanap ang pasahero... Ang challenge lang talaga namin itong weather... 3 ang available na aso...meron silang anim na handlers," he said.

(We think that within hours, in my opinion, we will be able to locate the passenger. The challenge is really the weather. There are three available dogs, and they have six handlers.)

Meanwhile, the remains of the pilot were already brought down from the crash site and turned over to his wife, Foronda said.

"The rescuers will keep the scene [crash site] the way they found it for the air crash investigators ng CAAP [Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines]," he said. —KG, GMA Integrated News