Kin join search for pilots of missing Air Force plane

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Air Force assured family members of the two missing pilots of a light aircraft that crashed nine days ago off Mariveles, Bataan, that it was not giving up the search for the wreckage of the plane.

Family members on Friday were allowed on board a naval rescue vessel still scouring areas near La Monja island for signs of the two pilots and their SF-260 plane.

“We’re still searching and we’re not going to stop until we find the wreckage,” PAF spokesperson Colonel Miguel Okol said Saturday.

No new debris has been found since the few scattered parts recovered shortly after the crash, the PAF said.

“It’s very frustrating for us and of course for the families,” Okol said.

While the PAF has not officially released the names of the pilots while the search is ongoing, other reports have identified them as Maj. Neil Tumaneng and Lt. Michael Arugay.

“The pilots are officially declared missing,” Okol said.

He said the families were kept abreast of everything the PAF was doing to determine what happened to the pilots and their plane.

“We tell them everything. We tell them what we do. We’re taking care of them,” Okol said.

On Friday, two family members were brought to the search site to see for themselves how the search was going on. “We tell them what we’re doing,” Okol said.

PAF and Philippine Navy personnel are searching an area five kilometers northwest of La Monja island, between the tips of Hormos and Cochinas Point in Mariveles.

The PAF said three other sites had been targeted for dive and seabed mapping operations.

The SF-260 aircraft with body number 716 left Sangley Point, Cavite, at 6:52 a.m. on May 18 for a proficiency flight over Corregidor.

Fishermen near La Monja island reported seeing the plane go down at around 7:15 a.m.

Since the crash, the PAF has grounded its seven remaining SF-260 turbo-prop planes which had been converted to light attack aircraft.

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Dona Z. Pazzibugan | Philippine Daily Inquirer | May 26, 2012 | Article Link

More Navy ships deployed for missing pilots

MANILA, Philippines – More ships from the Philippine Navy have been deployed to assist in the ongoing search for 2 pilots who went missing after their trainer plane crashed off the waters of Bataan last Friday, authorities said.

The search area has also been widened as the Navy's Patrol Gunboat 847 and an 11-meter rigid-hull inflatable boat were sent to cover at least 3 areas, according to Philippine Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol.

Okol said the vessels, which are equipped with side-scan sonar, will be maneuvered by the Naval Special Operations Group.

They will conduct the search at the sea bed, 5 kilometers north northwest of La Monja Island or between the tips of Hormos and Conchinas point in Mariveles town.

“Three sites have been targeted for dive and operations area ongoing,” said Okol. “Today, the use of an undersea remotely-operated vehicle or ROV equipped with cameras and light with strong lumens was contracted to have a better picture of the sea bed and underwater environs of the dive sites.”

Okol added that the Air Force is on standby to assist in the search operation.

The 2 pilots, whose names were not disclosed by authorities, were on a proficiency flight when their aircraft crashed Friday morning. 

Debris of the plane was later found by fishermen in the vicinity of La Monja island.

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ABS-CBNnews.com | May 24, 2012 | Article Link

Navy sends divers to search for 2 missing pilots, Air Force grounds all trainer planes

MANILA, Phlippines -- Navy deep-sea divers will scour the waters off Lamonja Island, Cavite to search for the two missing pilots of the ill-fated SF 260 plane as the Air Force grounded its remaining six trainer planes following the incident.

Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol said that with the aid of a seabed mapping ship with sonar tracking device, rescuers were able to identify an area where the plane could have crashed. The area was identified as 1x1.2 nautical square miles south southwest of Lamonja Island, or about 5 kilometers west of the island of Corregidor.

This was based on accounts from fishermen in the area.

Rescuers will dive 180 feet down to look for wreckage of the plane and the missing pilots. Elite divers from the Navy, Coast Guard, and deep-sea divers will look for the pilots, Okol said. 

"Yesterday we contracted the services of a ship that mapped the seabed and we were able to pinpoint possible targets," he said.

Probe underway

The Air Force has launched an investigation into the incident as it grounded six of the remaining SF260 TP planes in the process.

The trainer plane that crashed was of the turbo-propeller kind and was procured last 1994. Okol said the two pilots were undergoing contact proficiency training when the incident occurred.

"There was no distress signal, no mayday," he said.

"We cannot deduce what really happened and the debris we have now are not enough to provide us with conclusive data," Okol added.

Last week's search only yielded a seat foam, a helmet, tip tank, and a cover.

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Abigail Kwok | InterAksyon.com | May 21, 2012 | Article Link

Philippine Air Force narrows search for wreckage of trainer plane

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) - The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is now combing in an area southwest of La Monia Island near Corregidor for the wreckage of the ill-fated SF-260 trainer plane that crashed last Friday.

In a statement, PAF said “there has been no confirmation of the actual wreck site and the aircraft, save for a few debris found last Friday. This is also to belie earlier reports from other sources that remains or some body parts of the 2 missing pilots have been recovered.”

Two Air Force pilots remain missing after their trainer plane crashed off Mariveles, Bataan last Friday. The plane left Sangley Point in Cavite at around 6:52 a.m. for a proficiency flight but they lost contact three hours later.

PAF has also contracted a survey ship, with sonar and fathom tracking devices, to help in the search, PAF spokesman Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol said.

PAF has ordered the temporary grounding of all SF-260 planes following the incident.

The plane that crashed on Friday was included among the batch that the Philippines bought in 1994.

Another batch of the Italian-made planes was also bought in 2008. 

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ABS-CBN News Online | May 20, 2012 | Article Link

PAF trainer plane crashes in Bataan

MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 2 - 3:41 p.m.) An Air Force trainer plane crashed in the vicinity of the coastal town of Mariveles, Bataan on Friday morning.

The plane took off at 6:52 am from Sangley Point, Cavite and alerted the control tower between 9 and 10 am, after which it was declared missing.

The Philippine Navy has found the wreckage of the plane. A lieutenant and a major were reportedly onboard the plane but their names were not immediately made available.

Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol said the SF260 TP Warrior, a Cessna plane, "crashed in the vicinity of Mariveles, Bataan. Search and Rescue operations are currently ongoing."

Senior Inspector Dennis Orbista, spokesman of the Bataan police, said the plane took off from from the military base in Sangley Point in Cavite for a training session.

An hour after the plane crashed and Coast Guard personnel recovered the wreckage at Lamonja Island in Cavite, about an hour's boat ride from Mariveles.

Recovered from the sea were a fuel tank and a plane seat.

The Navy's BRP General Mariano Alvarez is continuing to search for the downed aircraft's crew.

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Aliana Gimena/Abigail Kwok | InterAksyon.com | May 18, 2012 | Article Link