The Philippine Coast Guard posted an incident report of “a maritime incident” involving an aircraft that has apparently crashed into the waters off Caba, La Union.
The aircraft, with tail number RP-C8230, crashed at around 11:30am today, May 26. Authorities also recovered the body of a student pilot at the incident area. The report indicates that the student pilot was 25 years old, and was from Apalit, Pampanga.
The small training aircraft was in the air for only about 25 minutes, according to FlightAware data. It took off presumably from Lingayen Airport, and tracked the shore to San Fernando, La Union, before circling and disappearing from radar. It was last tracked at 11:21am.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) told the government-run Philippine News Agency that the flight originated from Iba Airport in Zambales, and was en route to La Union Airport and Lingayen Airport. The pilot was conducting a solo cross-country flight, said the CAAP statement.
The Coast Guard contingent retrieved debris from the crash, which occurred only about 300 meters away from the shore.
The PCG promises progress updates about the incident.
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