Search for 2 missing PAF pilots continues

MANILA, Philippines - The search for two airmen of a trainer plane that crashed in Manila Bay off Bataan four days ago will continue until they are found, the Air Force said yesterday.

The Coast Guard has sought the help of coastal barangays in Bataan in the search for Maj. Neil Tumaneng and 1Lt. Michael Arugay, whose plane crashed off La Monja island in Cavite near Mariveles last May 18.

Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Algier Ricafrente said that they have already met with barangay officials to determine if there were any sighting of the two pilots.

“We have been doing information dissemination and coordinating with the coastal barangays,” he said.

“We are asking their fishermen that if they would be going out to sea and if they happen to see the pilots or the plane, they should immediately alert the PCG or the Navy.”

Ricafrente said while they are on their fourth day, they have not yet terminated the search and retrieval operation but have rather widened their search, averaging four nautical miles.

The trainer aircraft is made of metal and would unlikely drift farther out to sea, he added.

Ricafrente said the Coast Guard has sent out a rubber boat with divers and rented a motorboat to help the Air Force in looking for the missing pilots.

They have also issued a Notice to Mariners so the vessels passing in the area would be on alert, he added.

Since the discovery of a helmet, fuel tank and plane seat last Friday, no other debris from the plane crash has been found.

Col. Generoso Bolina, Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command spokesman, said rescue teams have yet to find signs of the bodies of the two missing pilots.

“Bodies of the missing pilots still not found and possibility of survival is very slim,” he said.

The doomed aircraft was among the latest deliveries to the Air Force in line with a program to train and hone the flying skills of pilots and students.

The Warrior Cessna trainer plane reportedly left Sangley Point, Cavite at 6:52 a.m.

Losing ground contact, the plane was later reportedly seen plunging into sea at the mouth of Manila Bay at about 8 a.m.