Responders likely reached Cessna crash site—CAAP

By Alena Mae Flores

ACOMPOSITE search and rescue (SAR) team was expected to have reached as of press time the site at the Mayon Volcano where a missing Cessna plane with six people on board was believed to have slammed on the mountainside shortly after take-off from the Bicol International Airport last Saturday.

It was supposed to arrive in Manila an hour later.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said the SAR used a Black Hawk chopper to reach the crash site, and were believed to be only 300 meters away as of 3 p.m. yesterday.

CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said the responders, composed of 11 men from the Philippine Army and six from the Bureau of Fire Protection, departed the headquarters of the Tactical Operations Group 5 at 7:08 a.m. for the drop off point at Mayon Volcano utilizing the S-70i Black Hawk helicopter.

The CAAP Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AAIIB) earlier confirmed that the wreckage captured by the SAR team surveying the area was that of the missing Cessna aircraft owned by the state-run Energy Development Corp. (EDC).

“Once the wreckage site has been reached and the passengers are identified, they will be airlifted to an undisclosed area for further medical assessment,” Apolonio said.

The Cessna aircraft with registry number RP-C2080 went missing somewhere in Camalig, Albay on Saturday.

AAIIB records showed that Cessna (now Textron Aviation) aircraft has recorded 13 accidents, 10 incidents, and