/PNA
MANILA — A Cessna C152 training aircraft that went missing earlier this week was already located, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Friday.
CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that Philippine Air Force troops found the aircraft at about 2 p.m. Thursday “somewhere in the mountains of Hermosa, Bataan.”
Search and rescue operations were immediately conducted. Ground troops reached the site Friday afternoon and recovered the bodies of the two passengers, Apolonio said.
Last Monday, the two-seater plane operated by Fliteline Aviation School took off from Plaridel Airport for a touch-and-go landing at Subic.
The plane was able to take off from Subic but did not return to Plaridel.
Two Indian nationals — the trainer pilot and a student — were inside the aircraft.
After failing to communicate with Plaridel Airport after their expected arrival at 8:14 a.m., Apolonio said CAAP’s operation center immediately contacted Iba, Lingayen and Sangley towers and was told of negative sightings.
“CAAP will also investigate the cause of the crash,” he said.
