Conflicting reports about an alleged aircraft crash in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, caused confusion among media practitioners and social media users on Tuesday, until aviation authorities confirmed that the aircraft had safely landed in Butuan City.
Initial reports indicated that an aircraft had crashed in Sitio Boribad, Barangay Tibolo, Santa Cruz, prompting speculation about a possible aerial survey in the area.
The reports also drew questions from netizens about whether the aircraft was conducting a search operation for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa or personnel from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) later dismissed the reports as a false alarm, confirming that the aircraft bearing registration number N882TP had landed safely at Butuan Airport.
“The aircraft with registration N882TP was accounted for and confirmed to have landed safely at Butuan Airport,” CAAP said in a statement.
Engr. Rex A. Obcena, Airport Manager III of CAAP-Davao International Airport, separately confirmed that the aircraft landed at 12:13 p.m. Tuesday, based on verification with Butuan airport authorities.
“We have verified information that the aircraft safely landed in Butuan at 12:13 this afternoon,” Obcena said.
Obcena explained that CAAP initiated verification procedures after receiving information from the Office of Civil Defense 11 (OCD 11) about a possible aircraft accident.
He said the agency coordinated with communications personnel, the Philippine Air Force, and airport authorities in Butuan to establish the aircraft’s whereabouts, noting that the reported incident was outside the jurisdiction of Davao International Airport.
Obcena said questions about the source of the initial report should be addressed to OCD 11.
OCD 11 Regional Director Ednar Dayanghirang also confirmed the aircraft’s safe landing, saying Obcena personally relayed the information to him.
“That is confirmed by no less than CAAP Manager Rex Obiena. He called me about 30 minutes ago, 40 minutes ago,” Dayanghirang said.
Dayanghirang attributed the confusion to the possible merging of two separate accounts involving different locations.
He said one account involved a video of a low-flying aircraft in Kapatagan, while another came from residents of Barangay Tibolo in Santa Cruz who reportedly heard a loud explosion and later saw smoke.
However, the residents did not actually see an aircraft crash, he clarified.
“Ang Kapatagan, kining Barangay Tibolo sa Santa Cruz, ang istorya nakadungog sila’g kusog na buto, tapos kita sila’g aso, pero wala sila kita nga ni-crash. So gi-add ang duha, equals crash,” he explained.
He said the two accounts may have been linked, resulting in the initial conclusion that an aircraft had crashed.
Dayanghirang added that local disaster management personnel acted on the information they received and conducted their own verification.
“Sa karon, gi-verify nila,” he said.
