Missing Cessna located in Apayao headed for Cagayan

📷: Provincial Government of Apayao/Facebook Page

On the border of Barangay Salvacion, Luna, and San Mariano Pudtol in Apayao, the wreckage of the Cessna plane that had vanished while en route to Cagayan has been found, in an upsetting turn of events. On Wednesday, local authorities from Cagayan and Apayao confirmed this depressing information.

In a statement on the issue, the provincial government of Apayao denied earlier reports from Cagayan authorities reporting that both passengers had been found dead and said that the two passengers on the tragic plane were still missing. In the midst of the turmoil, the Apayao government emphasized the need for people to solely depend on verifiable information, making it clear that the only confirmed detail was the location of the potential crash of the missing Cessna 152.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is leading constant search and rescue operations to try to find the missing passengers. Capt. Edzel John Lumbao Tabuzo and aspiring pilot Anshum Rajkumar Konde have been named as the passengers.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) declared that operations of the aircraft's operator, Echo Air, have been suspended while the investigation is ongoing. Additionally, the Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board has sent investigators to join the investigation.

The sad course of events started on August 1 when the Cessna-152 with the call sign RP-C8598 vanished while flying from Laoag, Ilocos Norte, to Tuguegarao, Cagayan. Approximately 35 nautical miles northwest of Alcala, Cagayan, the last communication from the aircraft was picked up, leaving a trail of doubt and worry.

At 2:37 PM on August 1, 2023, the Tuguegarao flight service station sent an INCERFA message to the CAAP expressing concern for the safety of the aircraft and the welfare of its passengers. Since then, the tragic jet's passengers have been missing, and searches are still ongoing.

This unfortunate tragedy makes a Cessna plane involved in such a catastrophic disaster in the Philippines three times this year. All four occupants of a Cessna aircraft that crashed in February of this year near the crater of the Mayon Volcano perished. Similar to this, a Cessna plane from March was discovered 44 days after it was reported missing, with six of its passengers proven dead.

Updates on the current investigation and developments in the search for passengers will be constantly tracked as the nation mourns the potential loss of lives in this most recent Cessna aviation tragedy.

Update of this report: https://www.uistv.news/2023/08/philippine-army-continues-search-for.html

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📷 Provincial Government of Apayao/Facebook Page

References/Sources/Credits: CNN