The Cessna plane went missing on Jan 24. over Isabela province after taking off from Cauayan City airport at 2:15 p.m.
It was supposed to reach Maconacon town at 2:45 but its last contact with air traffic controllers was at 2:19 p.m. over Naguilian town.
After weeks of search, the wreckage was found on March 9 in Divilican town.
It took 42 hours before the retrieval team reached the crash site.
As of noontime March 12, the bodies were already at the town proper of Divilican, Isabela.
Bodies of pilot, passengers of Cessna that crashed in Isabela retrieved
Mar 12, 2023 09:51 AM
At a glance
The bodies of the pilot and five people on board a Cessna plane that crashed in Isabela were already retrieved and are set to be turned over to their respective families.
Constante Foronda, of the Isabela Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said that as of around 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, the bodies were monitored to be at the town proper of Divilican.
“The problem is that the weather conditions in the area do not permit Philippine Air Force choppers to fly. Since it is no longer possible today, we will try again tomorrow for the choppers to reach the area,” said Foronda.
He said once the bodies are extracted from Divilican, they will be taken to Cauayan City where the relatives of the victims have been waiting.
The Cessna plane went missing on Jan. 24 over Isabela and on March 9, the wreckage was already found in the forest of Barangay Ditarum in Divilican town.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) earlier said that there was no survivor in the crash and that it would take time before the bodies are retrieved due to weather conditions and terrain of the crash site.
Foronda said it took 42 hours before the retrieval teams reached the crash site.