Flight 43 Accident: VFR Flight into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (PI-C948)

Flight Details and Timeline on the Day of the Accident Flight 43 was a non-scheduled domestic flight operating from Manila International Airport to Naga-Pili Airport. The aircraft departed Manila at 0943 hours Philippine local time, flying under a DVFR flight plan at an altitude of 7,500 feet. The estimated time en route for the journey was 1 hour and 10 minutes. At 1010 hours, the flight reported its position over Alabat at 5,500 feet and estimated its arrival at Pili Airport for 1045 hours. The crew reported no difficulties during this transmission, which would become the final communication from the flight. The accident is estimated to have occurred at approximately 1030 hours. ## Search and Recovery Operations A communication search for the missing flight was initiated at 1515 hours. The alert phase was declared at 1350 hours, followed by the distress phase at 1455 hours. An aerial search was subsequently launched and continued until information was received from two survivors. The survivors reported that the aircraft had crashed and burned on the steep, thickly forested slope of Mt. Tangcong Vaca, which has a height of 2,480 feet. The accident site was located 19 nautical miles northwest of Pili Airport, at an approximate altitude of 1,500 feet above mean sea level.