Female pilot, 25, dies in helicopter crash hours after dropping off Sen. Bato Dela Rosa
A female pilot died in a helicopter crash in Nueva Ecija hours after she dropped off Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa in Baguio.
The Philippine STAR reported that Julia Flori Monzon Po, daughter of businessman Archie Po, crashed at around 5 p.m. on Feb. 1 in a swampy area in Barangay San Miguel in Guimba town. She was 25.
According to Guimba police chief Lt. Col. George Calaud Jr.'s report, Po was wearing sports gear and jogging pants when rescuers recovered her body from the wreckage. She was alone when they arrived in the area.
Po was about to return to Manila when the tragedy happened.
Engine failure is seen as the cause of the crash.
Dela Rosa on Feb. 3 confirmed to reporters that he was Po's last passenger, saying she "volunteered" to fly him and his two security personnel to Baguio for an engagement.
He noted that the flight was "very smooth."
"Masaya kami sa flight. Wala kaming naramdamang anything unusual," he said.
Dela Rosa said he had another engagement in Pangasinan, though he opted to travel by land.
The senator could've also died on that fateful day had he asked for Po to wait for him.
"It really breaks my heart," he said. "Heartbroken ako ngayon nakita ko ang bata na very bright ang future."
He described Po as "very skilled," "very competent," and "very experienced."
Dela Rosa visited her wake on Sunday evening, Feb. 2, with former president Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Bong Go, according to a Facebook post from PDP-Laban.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) also launched an investigation into the incident.
The CAAP said the helicopter departed from Manila at 10:22 a.m. and took off from Baguio at 11:51 a.m.
It landed in Pangasinan at 12:05 p.m. to refuel.
But the helicopter wouldn't start immediately after refueling and was only able to start at 4:30 p.m.
The Philippine Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center detected six emergency locator transmitter alerts between 7:04 p.m. and 7:14 p.m.
