No remains retrieved yet from crash site

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya , Philippines  – Despite the fair weather yesterday police-led retrieval teams failed to extricate any remains of the seven people on board the ill-fated plane that crashed along the jungle in northern Cagayan province earlier this month.

However, Air force and Army choppers were able to drop food and medical provisions as well as mountain climbing paraphernalia for the 50-man ground retrieval team who have been near the crash site for the last five days.

“(Air force and Army aircrafts) have just successfully made the first drop of food supplies and equipment at the bivouac area above the plane wreckage,” said Cagayan Valley police director Chief Superintendent Roberto Damian.

Retrieval efforts had started on April 14 or almost two weeks after the plane wreckage was found strewn along the hallows of the towering mountains of Barangay San Miguel in Baggao, Cagayan.

“Clearing for (a landing area) has started (with the) weather relatively (cooperating), allowing (us to conduct) air sorties,” said Damian, also the head of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council, which is spearheading the retrieval operation. 

Landing zone

Yesterday’s “successful” dropping of food and medicines for the rescuers stuck above the actual crash site came amid reports that some of them were already getting sick amid the cold weather and putrid smell of corpses.

As of yesterday, Damian said they were able to clear a “basketball court”-size area where choppers could land to bring in more personnel and equipment, taking advantage of the fair weather.

“(The hastily-cleared area) will serve as landing and pick up zone for the body bags (as well as) and wreckage and investigators,” Damian said, adding that the landing zone is two to three hours by foot from the crash site, which has an altitude of more or less 5,000 feet.

The Chemtrad Islander plane, whose wreckage was discovered nearly two weeks after it went missing, was believed to have slammed into a mountain ridge in Baggao while trying to avoid bad weather on the way to Isabela’s coastal Maconacon town.

Damian said the pilots possibly miscalculated the height of mountain ridges in the area leading to the Pacific Coast, causing the twin-engine plane to slam into the ridges.

Apparently, in trying to avoid bad weather, the aircraft’s pilot strayed off its usual path over the northern Sierra Madre Mountain, instead of taking a northeasterly route through Baggao in the Pacific coast en route to Maconacon town.

The plane, piloted by Captain Tomas Yañez and his co-pilot Captain Ranier Ruiz, had left Tuguegarao City airport on April 2 for what should have been a 45-minute flight southeast to Maconacon. However, the said plane never reached its chartered destination.

The plane was also carrying Councilor Abelardo Baggay, SPO2 Rolly Castaños and Celestino Salacup, all from Maconacon town; barangay chairman Joel Basilio of Sapinit, Divilacan town; and James Bakilan of the Divilacan local government.