US Navy’s help sought in search for PAF plane

MANILA, Philippines - The military task force assigned to look for the missing Philippine Air Force plane that crashed off Palawan last week has requested the US Navy to help in the search.

The joint Task Force Bronco has requested the US Navy to provide powerful sonar with side imaging capabilities to help locate the missing OV-10 Bronco bomber plane.

Three US Navy warships are currently taking part in a joint naval drill off Panatag Shoal, a Philippine territory now under the de facto control of China.

“The request has been coursed to the United States embassy and we have yet to receive a feedback from the US Navy,” an official said.

Aside from its guided-missile destroyer USS Fiztgerald, the US Navy has deployed its salvage and rescue ships USN Safeguard and USN Salvor to the yearly joint naval drill under Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise.

These two vessels are equipped with hi-tech underwater detection gadgets which, if deployed in Palawan, can scan wide areas of the seabed of Honda Bay.

This developed after technical divers from the Naval Special Operations Group (Navsog) led by Lt. Junior Grade Josephus Dimaunahan failed to locate the position of the missing plane following their two diving sorties since Friday.

The first dive was conducted in an area about 61 meters deep where a portable sonar used to scan the seabed of Honda Bay detected some underwater anomalies several days ago.

“It’s not the wreck of the Bronco plane that was pinged (detected) by the sonar but a boulder,” said one of the divers.

The second dive yesterday also yielded negative results.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Palawan district commander Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista said they have cordoned off the area from fishermen.

Evangelista said they began the search for the missing plane and its two pilots since Monday and they have issued a notice to mariners advising all vessels to stay clear of the crash site.

“The area has become a no fishing zone. We do not allow the entry of unauthorized vessels because there is an ongoing search,” he said.

Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, Western Command commander, clarified reports that they have located the missing plane.

Reports said the plane was found at the seabed off the coast near the Puerto Princesa airport. The online report said the missing two pilots were also found inside the plane’s cockpit. – With Evelyn Macairan