Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Additional OV-10 debris recovered, but fate of two pilots still unknown

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 26): Additional OV-10 debris recovered, but fate of two pilots still unknown

The Armed Forces of the Philippines' Western Command on Wednesday announced that additional debris from the downed OV-10 "Bronco" attack aircraft has been recovered.

1st Lt. Cheryl Tindog, Western Command spokesperson, said the wreckage were recovered by search teams and immediately turned over to the 570th Composite Tactical Wing for proper identification.

"The debris has been turned over to the 570th Composite Tactical Wing for identification procedure. This will determine whether the wreckage is part of our aircraft," she added.

Tindog stated that search-and-rescue operation procedures are still ongoing for the two missing pilots.

The two missing pilots were earlier identified as Major Jonathan A. Ybanez and 1st Lt Abner Trust Nacion.

"The fate of the two pilots, Major Jonathan A. Ybanez and 1st Lt. Abner Trust Nacion still remain unknown as of the moment and are listed as missing. The search will continue until the wreckage are found and the fate of the two officers known," Philippine Air Force (PAF) spokesperson Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol said.

He added that the PAF has contracted the use of sonar equipment from a Cebu-based firm to aid and complement other equipment used in the search.

"The efforts (to locate the two pilots and OV-10 airframe) have been supported by the Western Command based in Palawan with Philippine Navy and Coast Guard elements conducting the search even at night," the PAF spokesperson stressed.

The downed plane, with tail number 630, belongs to the 570th Composite Tactical Wing which is based in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

The aircraft and another one with tail number 139 took off around 6:37 p.m. Sunday for a night flying proficiency.

However, only the aircraft with tail number 139 safely landed back after 53 minutes.

The missing OV-10 "Bronco" ( tail number 630) lost contact with the Palawan tower around 7:30 p.m. and failed to return.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=538256

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.