US to aid PH in search for missing plane, pilot in Aurora

@USEmbassyPH is ready to assist. We’ve been in touch with Philippine authorities to determine what assistance is needed and how we can help. #FriendsPartnersAllies @DFAPHL @PCOOgov @CAAP_Operations

— U.S. Embassy in the Philippines (@USEmbassyPH) August 11, 2019

MANILA — The United States Embassy in Manila on Sunday vowed to assist the Philippine government in finding the missing plane and its pilot, which is believed to have crashed in the mountain ranges of Aurora in July 2019.

The assurance was made after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. personally appealed to the Embassy via his social media page to assist in the search.

“We need a special satellite image that can penetrate the jungle to detect plane’s aluminum. CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) has no capability whatsoever in this weather for this mission,” Locsin said, tagging the Embassy in one of his public tweets.

“One more day and it won’t be search & rescue but search & recovery of cadaver. Please US help,” he stressed.

In response, the Embassy said Washington is ready to assist as a “friend, partner, and ally” to the Philippines.

“(The US Embassy in the Philippines) is ready to assist. We’ve been in touch with Philippine authorities to determine what assistance is needed and how we can help,” it noted.

The missing Cessna C-152 plane, piloted by 25-year-old Aaron Dizon, was supposed to have landed in Clark after it left Baler on July 28.

The aircraft, owned by Omni Aviation Corporation, is one of the five planes that took off from San Luis town in Baler. However, only four managed to land in Clark.