The search for the missing Cessna 152 training aircraft RPC-8598 of Echo Air International Aviation Academy, Inc., has ended after two days with the aircraft’s crash site being located on August 3, 2023, at Sitio Matad, Barangay Salvacion, Luna, Apayao. Two bodies were recovered from the site.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) spokesman Eric Apolonio said the Cessna 152 aircraft carrying a Filipino flight instructor and an Indian national student pilot departed Laoag International Airport at 12:16 p.m. on August 1, 2023 enroute to Cauayan Airport then Tuguegarao Airport. The aircraft was supposed to arrive at Tuguegarao Airport at around 3:16 PM. The aircraft transmitted its last position report approximately 32 nautical miles northwest of Alcala, Cagayan at around 1 p.m. on August 1, 2023.
The successful search and rescue (SAR) operations were conducted by a team composed of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), different local government units (LGUs), and other civilian volunteers. The SAR team has recovered two bodies believed to be the two occupants of the ill-fated Cessna 152 aircraft.
CAAP has suspended the operations of the aircraft’s operator, Echo Air International Aviation Academy, Inc., while the investigation is ongoing.
Investigators from the CAAP Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AAIIB) are also already on the crash site to conduct the investigation.
