What happened
During a mission to locate a missing vessel, a crew departed from Zamboanga City Airport to perform a survey flight. While in transit, the crew encountered an unforeseen emergency that necessitated an immediate water landing. The aircraft was forced to ditch in the waters of Igat Bay, located off the coast of Zamboanga.
Following the ditching, all six occupants were successfully rescued from the scene. Although the crew survived the incident, the aircraft subsequently sank and is considered lost.
Findings
No specific technical cause for the emergency was identified in the initial report, though the crew was forced to perform the ditching due to an unexpected situation encountered during the flight phase.