MARIA AURORA, Aurora — Rescue teams, including Army soldiers, are hoping to reach the pilot of a light aircraft and his trainee, who were injured when their plane crashed Tuesday afternoon, November 7, in the Sierra Madre highlands in Maria Aurora town, Aurora.
Aurora Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Elson Egargue said he had a brief mobile phone conversation with Captain Albert Galvan, the pilot of Cessna 152 RPC-1995, who reported that he and his student, Alexis Trinidad, both had foot injuries and minor bruises.
The 56th Infantry Battalion immediately deployed two teams to try and reach the crash site but they had to suspend operations when darkness set in on Tuesday.
Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Paredes, the battalion commander, said he would send a platoon to reinforce the teams Wednesday.
They will be joined by rescuers of the provincial and municipal disaster response offices and the provincial police. The help of the response team of Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, which borders the crash site, has also been sought.
The light aircraft owned by FlyFast Flying School based in Lingayen, Pangasinan was on its way to Baler when it went down.