AUTHORITIES are now searching for a ‘Cessna’ single-engine plane with six people on board following its disappearance after take-off from the Cauayan Domestic Airport last Tuesday afternoon, January 24, 2023 and was placed under ‘distress phase’ by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
According to CAAP’s aviation regulations, a Distress Phase pertains to a situation where there is reasonable certainty that an aircraft and its occupants are threatened by grave and imminent danger or require immediate assistance.
The six people on board the missing Cessna RPC 1174 have been identified as pilot Captain Eleazar Mark Joven and passengers Tommy Manday, Val Kamatoy, Mark Eiron Siguerra, Xam Siguerra, and Josefa Perla España.
CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said around 3:17 p.m. on Tuesday, they received a report that a C206 Plane identified as RPC1174 did not arrive at its intended destination at Maconacon Airport, also in Isabela province.
Spot report from CAAP showed that its operations center (OpCen) received an “uncertainty phase” alert from the Cauayan Tower at 3:17 p.m. on Tuesday after discovering that the plane did not land at its destination.
The plane departed Cauayan Airport at 2:15 p.m. and its last contact with the air traffic controller was at 2:19 p.m. when it was within the vicinity of Naguillian Bridge.
The plane was expected to arrive at Maconacon at 2:45 p.m.