DAVAO DEL SUR — Reports of a possible aircraft crash in the mountainous area of Barangay Tibolo, Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, triggered a search and verification operation by disaster response authorities on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, but subsequent investigations found no evidence of an aircraft crash.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region XI clarified that no plane crash had occurred in the reported areas of Santa Cruz and Kapatagan after responding teams inspected the locations and found neither aircraft wreckage nor other indications of an aviation accident.
The initial alarm stemmed from reports by residents of Barangay Tibolo who reportedly heard a loud, explosion-like sound and observed thick smoke rising from an area near Sitio Boribad. The reports prompted local disaster management personnel to mobilize and investigate the possibility of an aircraft going down.
OCD-XI Regional Director Ednar Dayanghirang said disaster response teams acted on the information received from residents and immediately coordinated with local authorities to verify the incident.
Personnel from the Digos City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), Santa Cruz Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and the Davao del Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office took part in the response and search operations.
Earlier information from the Santa Cruz LDRRMO indicated that six foreign nationals were reportedly aboard a private aircraft believed to have been involved in the incident. However, this information was not established by the subsequent investigation.
Dayanghirang later clarified that the reports circulating on Tuesday may have resulted from two separate incidents in different locations.
One involved videos sent by residents of Kapatagan showing an aircraft flying at a relatively low altitude. The other concerned reports from residents of Barangay Tibolo who heard a loud noise and saw smoke.
Authorities, however, found no direct evidence connecting either report to an aircraft accident.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) also conducted verification after receiving the initial report from OCD-XI.
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CAAP-Davao International Airport Manager III Engr. Rex A. Obcena confirmed that an aircraft with registration number N882TP, which had initially been reported missing and subsequently associated with the alleged crash, had safely landed at Butuan Airport at 12:13 p.m. on Tuesday.
The aircraft’s location and landing were verified through coordination with Butuan Airport authorities.
CAAP clarified that the aircraft’s safe arrival in Butuan helped disprove the initial reports linking it to the alleged accident in Davao del Sur. The agency also emphasized that the reported incident was outside the jurisdiction of CAAP-Davao International Airport.
However, OCD-XI subsequently stressed that the aircraft that landed safely in Butuan was a different aircraft from the one reportedly seen flying at low altitude over Kapatagan. This distinction further underscored the need to treat the separate reports independently rather than assume they involved the same aircraft.
Following the inspection of the reported locations, Dayanghirang confirmed that search and rescue teams had found no evidence of an aircraft crash in Santa Cruz or Kapatagan.
The incident highlights the importance of rapid verification and coordination among disaster response agencies and aviation authorities, particularly when unconfirmed reports of aircraft accidents circulate and generate public concern.
Authorities urged the public to exercise caution in sharing unverified information, especially reports involving alleged casualties, missing aircraft, or emergency incidents, until these have been confirmed by the appropriate agencies.