Cessna plane that went missing in Cagayan did not send distress signal: CAAP

MANILA - As rescue teams continue to search for the Cessna plane that went missing in Cagayan province on August 1, aviation authorities revealed that the aircraft failed to send a distress signal before going off-radar.

It was also the fifth such incident this year and the third involving a Cessna aircraft.

Last January, a Cessna 206 crashed in Isabela. A month later, a Cessna 340 also crashed in Albay. There were no survivors.

On Tuesday, a Cessna 152 went missing in Cagayan with two onboard.

• Missing Cessna plane may have crashed in Alcala, Cagayan: CAAP

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said they have yet to conclude investigations on the two earlier aircraft incidents.

The CAAP aircraft accident investigation includes examining the wreckage, gathering evidence, and interviewing witnesses to determine the cause of the crash. Their findings will be crucial in understanding the circumstances that led to the unfortunate events.

“Actually, yung dalawang nauna hindi pa tapos yung investigation. Marami pang tinitignang factors dun. Especially yung mga engine ng aircraft. Tiniginan isa-isa yan kasi baka i-claim ng mga operator na engine failure. Made-determine yan ng ating mga aircraft accident investigators.” CAAP Spokesperson Eric Apolonio said.

(Actually, we have to finish the investigation into the first two incidents. We are still looking at a lot of factors--especially the engines of the aircraft. We are carefully looking at it because the operators may claim engine failure. Our aircraft accident investigators will be able to determine that.)

CAAP also confirmed a pattern among the recent Cessna plane incidents - all three did not send a distress signal.

Searching for the missing Cessna planes in Bicol and Isabela would have been quicker if the planes had been able to send a distress signal.

When an aircraft meets trouble, a device called an Emergency Locator Transmitter or ELT gets activated and sends a distress signal.

When the ELT detects a sudden drop in altitude, changes in the plane's movement, or gets submerged in water, the device sends a distress signal to air traffic systems.

This emergency beacon device alerts rescue authorities and indicates the location of the aircraft.

The distress signal is received by the CNS-ATM in Pasay, as far as Hong Kong Mission Control, and even in Japan. The air traffic controllers would then alert rescue authorities and pinpoint the aircraft's location in real time.

The pilot could manually activate ELT through a red remote switch and control panel indicator in the cockpit.

“Based on service record nung nasabing aircraft (Cessna 152), compliant po sila. Meron po silang transponder, ELT, meron silang radio communications. Yung distress signal hindi nakuha. Na-detect na lang sila ng tower nung missing na sila ng 3 p.m.” Apolonio said.

(Based on the service record of the aircraft, they were compliant. They have a transponder, ELT, they have radio communications. We didn't get a distress signal. The tower just detected that they were missing around 3 p.m.)

“Lahat ng yan (Cessna aircraft incidents) tinitingnan ng ating imbestigador. Iyon nga lang sa huling kaso ng aircraft, yung kahapon (Cessna 152) talagang maganda naman yung weather nung umalis sila," Apolonio added.

(The investigators are looking at all of those incidents. It's just that the latest case, the one yesterday, the weather was fine when they left.)

CAAP said that small aircraft can pass the regulatory body's annual inspection only if the ELT is present and functional. It is part of the checklist small aircraft operators have to meet before CAAP grants them the Air Worthiness Certificate.

The agency now plans to conduct surprise inspections in pilot schools to check the airworthiness of the training aircraft. Flying schools mostly use Cessna planes to train their pilot students.

Since 2008 when CAAP was created, the regulatory agency has recorded 157 aircraft incidents, 40 percent of which involved Cessna planes. Based on CAAP data, the number of aircraft incidents recorded from 2008 until 2014 ranged from 8 to as high as 20 a year.

From 2008 to the present, the majority of those involved in aircraft incidents are from aviation schools where a pilot and a trainee are on board.

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