At around 3:17 p.m., January 24, 2023, the Cauayan Airport Tower reported to CAAP Head Office that a Cessna 206 type aircraft identified as RPC1174 did not arrive at its intended destination at Maconacon Airport in Isabela Province.
Maconacon Airport is operated by its local government unit (LGU).
RPC1174 departed Cauayan Airport at 02:15PM, 24 January 2023, and its last contact with the air traffic controller was at 02:19PM when it was within the vicinity of Naguillian Bridge. The aircraft was carrying six persons on board, including the pilot-in-command, said Eric Apolonio, spokesman for Civil Abiation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
It was expected to arrive at Maconacon Airport at 2:45PM.
At 3:15PM, communication search was initiated by Cauayan Tower. Due to lack of response from the aircraft (RPC1174), the Alert Level was elevated, and search and rescue operations commenced at around 04:00PM.
Due to the negative result of the communication search, Alert Level was again raised to Distress Phase (DETRESFA) at 4:12PM which prompted a full-scale search and rescue (SAR) operations which is still on going at this time.
A meeting between the members of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRMMC) in Cauayan City, Isabela regarding the continued SAR operations was conducted earlier today, 25 January 2023. The SAR is led by the Philippine Air Force – Tactical Operations Group 2 (PAF-TOG 2), Apolonio said.
The ongoing SAR operations for the missing aircraft utilizing a PAF helicopter has been halted due to bad weather in the area, prompting the SAR team to return to its base. The SAR operations will resume once weather in the area improves. (JERRY S. TAN)
