The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has conducted a full-scale search for a small aircraft which went missing on Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 25, in the province of Isabela.
CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said the Cessna 206, a single engine with registry number RP-C 1174, was supposedly bound for Maconacon town in isabela with six people on board when it lost contact.
"It departed the Cauayan airport at 2:15 p.m. bound for Maconacon but the plane did not arrive. The last contact with the pilot was at 2:19 p.m. when the plane was in the vicinity of Naguillian," said Apolonio.
He said the plane was supposed to land at Maconacon at 2:45 p.m., adding that the Cauayan Control Tower took the initiative to contact the pilot at 3:15 after it did not arrive on time.
"We are on a search and rescue mission. We are now coordinating with the local authorities for the search and rescue," said Apolonio.
For his part, national police chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin, Jr. said they have already dispatched a team from the Police Regional Office 2 to assist in the conduct of the search and rescue mission.
"We are trying to dispatch as many rescue teams. Yesterday, there was an attempt to conduct an aerial search but it was called off due to bad weather conditions," said Azurin.
"So today, I hope it will be better weather so that our personnel can go to any area because the report that reached us was that it went missing," he added.
Both the CAAP and the PN would not release the names of the six people on board, saying they have yet to locate the aircraft.