The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has started investigating the case of Cessna 206 plane that crashed in Isabela province with six people on board.
The probe came after the search and retrieval operations team were completed, with the remains of the pilot and five passengers brought them to Cauayan City Tuesday morning.
“Six bodies of the ill-fated Cessna 206 with registry RP-C1174 that crashed in Isabela were finally retrieved by authorities on board Philippine Air Force (PAF) Huey helicopter that arrived Cauayan Airport at 8:38 a.m. today from Divilacan, Isabela,” CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said.
Apolonio said the wreckage was found shortly before noon of March 9 by the composite teams from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and with some Dumagat natives who spotted the aircraft at Barangay Ditarum, Divilacan, Isabela.
“Investigators from the CAAP’s Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AAIIB), which have been tasked to focus on the missing aircraft since its disappearance on 24 January 2023, are already at the crash site to conduct their field investigation,” he said.
The plane went missing on Jan. 24 after taking off at Cauayan Airport at 2:15 p.m. Its last contact with the air traffic controller was at 2:19 p.m. while it was in the vicinity of Naguillian Bridge.
Loss of contact with the aircraft prompted the authorities to raise the Alert Level, and the search and rescue operations started.
The SAR operations for the missing aircraft utilizing a PAF helicopter has been halted several times due to bad weather in the area.
