4 Boy Scouts who survived plane crash hailed in jamboree

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – The four Boy Scouts who survived last Monday’s plane crash in Cagayan received cheers and accolades from their colleagues who welcomed them at the inter-regional jamboree site in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur.

Scouts Giovanni Pajudpud, 10; Benedict John Acebes, 10; Keith Justine Valientes, 11; and John Harold Agito 11, all from the island province of Batanes, pushed through with their participation in the yearly jamboree of Boy Scouts, which kicked off in Barangay Daclapan, Cabugao town yesterday.

The four Scouts, with other delegates from Cagayan Valley, arrived safely at the jamboree site, unlike what happened to them when their plane from Batanes suffered engine trouble in mid-air while preparing to land at the Tuguegarao City airport in Cagayan for a brief stopover en route to Ilocos Sur. 

Had it not been for the experience and flying prowess of Capt. Jose Agustin and co-pilot Benedict de la Cruz of the Queen Air twin-engine, 14-seater plane, the Scouts, along with seven other passengers, including two children, would not have survived the crash-landing in the Cagayan River.

Despite the experience, the four Boy Scouts, who are part of the 17-man Batanes contingent, decided to join the weeklong jamboree, earning them the cheers and accolades of their more than 6,000 colleagues who came from different parts of northern Luzon.

Reports quoted Gil Savellano, executive director of the Ilocos Sur Boy Scouts, as saying that the four Scouts have shown exemplary courage after they still pushed through with their participation despite the harrowing experience.

The pilots of the Beechcraft light plane were forced to make an emergency landing after the aircraft’s engine malfunctioned in mid-air, 18 kilometers from the Tugueragao City airport where it was scheduled to land at 1:35 p.m. Monday, an hour after taking off from the Basco airport in Batanes. 

The passengers and crew managed to get out of the aircraft and stayed on the flaps for about 20 minutes before villagers in Barangay San Vicente, Iguig town came to their rescue.