Missing Cessna plane’s wreckage found

MANILA, Philippines — The wreckage of a missing Cessna plane that crashed in Bicol with four persons on board has been found on the slopes of Mayon Volcano, authorities reported yesterday.

Bad weather prevented members of the search and rescue teams from reaching the wreckage, which was spotted on Sunday on the west side slope at an elevation of 3,500 to 4,000 feet from the foot of the volcano.

An aerial team yesterday tried four times but failed to land in the area as thick clouds and strong winds blanketed the volcano, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio told The STAR in a text message that crash investigators on board two helicopters of the Philippine Air Force and the Navy conducted reconnaissance flights yesterday.

Crash investigators positively identified the wreckage as that of the missing Cessna 340 Caravan.

“A high-resolution camera was used to identify the wreckage,” Apolonio said.

Before the wreckage was identified, Apolonio said another team would use an all-terrain vehicle to reach the crash site once the weather permits.

The plane took off from the Bicol International Airport on Saturday. It was operated by the Energy Development Corp. and found compliant with CAAP’s airworthiness certification.

2 SAR team members slain in NPA attack

Meanwhile, two Army soldiers involved in the search and rescue mission for the Cessna plane were killed in an attack by alleged New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas in Camalig, Albay on Monday.

The Army said Pvts. John Paul Adalim and Mark June Esico died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Adalim and Esico were in a market in Barangay Cotmon to collect supplies for the search and rescue operations when at least five alleged NPA rebels shot them.

The Army’s 9th Infantry Division (ID) condemned the killing, saying the communists took advantage of the situation when the soldiers were focusing on a help mission. – Ralph Edwin Villanueva, Rudy Santos, Michael Punongbayan