Bengaluru-based pilot goes missing in Philippines

BENGALURU:  A Bengaluru-based pilot working as a trainer in the Philippines and his trainee pilot have gone missing since Monday after their aircraft lost contact with air traffic control (ATC) during a ‘touch-and-go’ exercise being carried out between Plaridel and Subic airports of the archipelagic nation. The aircraft was using a drone on Thursday afternoon, but all efforts to contact the Bengaluru-based instructor, Naveen Nagaraj, and his trainee pilot, Kuldeep Singh, have gone in vain.

The aircraft was spotted in a densely-forested area between Orani and Abucay regions, near the Balanga city, in the province of Bataan, Philippines. Search and rescue parties are yet to reach the aircraft, which, as per drone pictures, is said not to have crashed, but forcefully landed. The announcement regarding the missing persons was made by the Philippines aviation regulator on Tuesday. Naveen’s family was informed that the drone was used to find the aircraft, and that rescue operations are ongoing.

Thirty-year-old Naveen was on board the Cessna C-152 aircraft, with the tail number RPC-2724, which lost contact with the Plaridel Airport. According to local media reports, the plane took off from Plaridel Airport at 7.20 AM local time, and landed at Subic Airport at 7.51 AM, before taking off again to return to Plaridel, when it lost contact with the ATC. 

Captain Naveen is a resident of Nandini Layout in Bengaluru. His father Nagaraj is employed in the Public Works Department (PWD) here. Naveen’s parents immediately flew to Philippines on being informed by authorities there. 

Naveen’s family friend, Vipul Siddanakatte, a pilot with a private Indian airline, told TNIE, “Search operations are going on, but not as expected. They did not press helicopters into the search and rescue operations soon after they located the aircraft. We are urging them to act quickly so that the rescuers can reach Naveen and his trainee as soon as possible.” 

‘kept us in the dark for 24 hrs’
“The authorities from Fliteline Aviation School Inc in Philippines did not alert their army about Naveen’s plane crash, though they were aware of the mishap. They reported it only 24 hours later. The aviation in that country (Philippines) has a history of mishaps, and I blame the school. They are responsible for Naveen going missing. Choppers were used only after three days,” alleged Vipul Siddanakatte, a family friend of Naveen Nagaraj.

Santosh Kumar Mishra, the consular for the Indian Embassy in the Philippines, reportedly spoke to Siddanakatte about search operations. Siddanakatte said they urged Mishra to request the Philippines government to carry out all possible rescue operations at the earliest. Naveen’s mother Meena, who is with her husband Nagaraj in the Philippines now, was not aware about her son going missing until Thursday evening. The incident occurred on February 4.

Although Nagaraj was informed on February 5 and rushed to the Philippines that day, Meena followed him only the next day, but without knowing why her husband had rushed there. Naveen got married to Akshatha, an Ayurvedic doctor, two years ago. The couple lives in Plaridel, Bulacan, which is close to the Fliteline Aviation School Inc, where Naveen joined in 2007.  “Akshatha told me that he left the house early on February 4. She informed me that the aircraft was found around afternoon in the forest,” Vipul said, adding that Naveen had come to Bengaluru last month for a short visit.