Bad weather halts ops for missing Cessna in Isabela — PDRRMO

Some searchers and rescuers for the missing Cessna plane in Isabela decided to stay in the mountains as the bad weather again halted their operations, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) said Monday.

In an update, PDRRMO head Constante Foronda Jr. said the weather in Divilacan has been rainy and windy since Saturday.

“It has been rainy and windy in Divilacan since February 25. However, those who were deployed before the weather went bad chose to stay in the mountains,” he said.

“Only the Coast Guard K9 team and Maconacon rescuers are now resting, but they will be deployed anew when the weather improves,” he added.

On Thursday, search operations resumed

A total of 452 ground search personnel and 13 tracker dogs are now designated for the operations, the Incident Management Team said.

On January 24, Cessna C206 plane RPC 1174 took off from Cauayan Airport in Isabela at 2:15 p.m. heading for Maconacon town.

On board the light aircraft were its pilot and five passengers.

The pilot last communicated with air traffic controllers at around 2:19 p.m. in Naguilian.

The plane was expected to arrive at Maconacon at 2:45 p.m.

Isabela PDRRMO said that the weather was clear when the plane left Cauayan Airport, but the wind around Sierra Madre was "turbulent." — RSJ, GMA Integrated News