A 25-year-old female pilot was killed when the helicopter she was flying crashed into a swamp in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, authorities confirmed on Sunday.
The aircraft, identified as RP-C3424, went down at around 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, in Purok Arimungmong, Barangay San Miguel.
The pilot, Julia Flori Monzon Po, a resident of C-305 Marina Bay Homes, Asia World, Parañaque City, was the sole occupant of the helicopter. She was later confirmed to be a pilot for television host Willie Revillame.
Revillame reportedly visited a funeral service in Guimba, where Po’s remains were initially brought. Her body was scheduled for transfer to Heritage Park in Taguig City on Sunday evening.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) spokesperson Eric Apolonio said that the helicopter departed Manila at 10:22 a.m. and traveled to Baguio, where it dropped off a passenger. It then took off from Baguio at 11:51 a.m. and proceeded to Binalonan, Pangasinan, for refueling, arriving at 12:05 p.m.
However, Binalonan Airport officials reported that the aircraft experienced difficulty restarting its engine before eventually taking off again at 4:30 p.m.
CAAP has since launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
