MISSING. The Cessna plane that was reported missing while about to enter Claveria town in Cagayan province on Tuesday (Aug. 1, 2023). The plane with two persons on board took off from the Laoag City Airport and was supposed to land in Tuguegarao City. (File photo courtesy of OCD-Region 2)
TUGUEGARAO CITY – An Incident Management Team has been formed to conduct the search and rescue operation for the two occupants of a missing two-seater plane that took off from Laoag City Airport and was supposed to land in this city on Tuesday.
Rueli Rapsing, head of the Cagayan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said in a news briefing Wednesday that the RPC-8598 Cessna plane went missing around noontime with the pilot, Capt. Edzel John Tabauzo, and an Indian student-pilot, Anshum Rajkumar Konde, on board.
The official added that the plane was about to enter Claveria, Cagayan but due to bad weather, it may have crash-landed based on the emergency meeting discussions led by the Office of Civil Defense-Region 2 (Cagayan Valley).
Before the said plane was reported missing, it was able to send information over the radar communication line at an altitude of 8,000 ft and 32 nautical miles northwest of Alcala, Cagayan.
Rapsing said two Cessna planes flew to Tuguegarao from Laoag City Airport but only one landed here.
According to him, it is possible that the plane crash-landed either in Apayao, Abra or Kalinga.
Meanwhile, two helicopters from the Philippine Coast Guard and the New Tribe Missionary attempted to help conduct an aerial search for the missing plane but both aborted their plan due to bad weather. (PNA)
