Light plane with 4 aboard lost

A light plane with four people on board was reported missing yesterday somewhere between two towns in Northern Luzon, officials said.

The single-engine Cessna 207 plane owned by air taxi company Chemtrad took off from Tuguegarao, capital of Cagayan, at 8:12 a.m. for a 35-minute flight to Palanan in nearby Isabela province, the Air Transportation Office (ATO) said in a report.

Aviation officials sounded an alert 30 minutes after the plane, piloted by Capt. Edgardo Castillo, failed to land on schedule. The passengers were listed as Hydee Cabrera and her toddler daughters Hazel and Nicole.

Three other airports in the area reported no sighting of the aircraft, the report said.

"There has been no word from the pilot since he took off," said Rolando Luna, ATO deputy chief. Luna said the weather was fair in the area.

The ATO has dispatched a rescue team to search the route of the seven-seater plane.

The route between Isabela and Tuguegarao is described by pilots as treacherous and dangerous especially when it rains, as thick clouds envelope the mountains in the area.

A plane that disappeared on the same route 20 years ago had not been found until recently.