SAR continues for missing air ambulance in Palawan
SEARCH and Rescue (SAR) operations are continuously being conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), in coordination with concerned agencies, for the missing medivac flight operated by Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services (PAMAS) that went missing on Wednesday, March 1.
Philippine Air Force (PAF) flight ANGL 924 W3 departed from Puerto Princesa International Airport (PPIA) at 7:52 a.m. to assist in the SAR operations.
The missing ambulance aircraft took off at 7:30 a.m. (March 1) in Brooke’s Point to pick up a patient at Mangsee Island in Balabac, Palawan, and failed to arrive at 10:30 a.m. at Southern Palawan Provincial Hospital.
CAAP Area Center 4 PPIA Manager Mohammad Naga S. Rascal said that aside from PAF helicopters, boats from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) are also currently being deployed along the medivac plane’s flight route.
On CAAP’s part, a permit addressed to PAMAS President Captain Dwayne Harris has been issued by the Flight Standards Inspectorate Service (FSIS), Flight Operations Department (FOD), and Air Traffic Service (ATS) approving its humanitarian flight operations from February 27 until August 27, 2023.
CAAP has also dispatched officers from its Aircraft Accident Investigation and Inquiry Board (AAIIB) to assist in the emergency. BY JUN I. LEGASPI & ZAIDA DELOS REYES
