Huge White 4-Engine Jet's Flyby in Dagupan

By Mortz Ortigoza

When I heard a loud roar of an aircraft at 8 to 9 A.M today, I thought it was either Pangasinan Governor Monmon Guico or Pangasinan 2nd District Congressman Mark Cojuangco’s P40 million Robinson 44 helicopter in-flight from eastern Pangasinan to their offices in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

“Mga 7:30 AM dumadaan kayo sa itaas ng bahay ko,” I told once the young governor – a helicopter pilot whose family owned an aviation school – in a huddle while he waited for his chopper to fetch him at the ground of the provincial government’s spruced up Capitol Resort Hotel.

PHOTO CAPTION: Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is an early long-range narrow-body jetliner designed and produced by the American Douglas Aircraft Company (Wikipedia)

“Saan ba ang bahay mo banda?” he retorted.

“Sa Barangay Tapuac, Dagupan City”.

“Sige pag daan ko uli doon huhulugan kita ng durian,” the thorny fruit eating former Congressman who bought regularly a sack load of Puyat, Arancillo and Malaysian 101 durians when my family still sell the fruits in the Bangus City we bought from Davao and Cotabato during the pandemic of 2020.

I digressed on that big white jet, teh heh!

Before noon today my errand boy Galman told me: “Sir! Nakita niyo iyong malaking eroplano na umikot dito ngayon lang?'

“Hindi, pero malakas ang ugong akala ko helicopter na mababa lang ang lipad”.

While I was typing my news at my laptop at 5:30 A.M, I jumped off from my seat and ran outside to have a glimpse of the airborne plane leaving a loud noise.

Sanamagan! It was painted white with four jet engines like a commercial jet going to the direction of Lingayen.

I thought it was the U.S Air Force or U.S Navy’s Poseidon that monitor the movements of the ships of the Chinese’s coast guard and navy at the nearby Scarborough Shoals.

But it couldn't be the Poseidon - U.S maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security - since I saw it up close when I covered the U.S and Philippines military exercises at Clark in Pampanga. I got the photo of the two engines' aircraft at the sideline since American soldiers would not allow us inside.

The Poseidon and the U.S P-3 Orion were seen on TV making fly-by as the Philippines Navy and its resupply mission civilian vessels carefully tread the water going to the ghost Navy ship - where our Marines were ensconced - in the Ayungin Shoal as Chinese military and militia ships harrassed them.

I googled “four jet engines of the United States military” and I saw at my screen the images of the C-17 Globemaster III, C-141 Starlifter and C-5A Galaxy giant cargo planes of the Yanks.

What was that huge long jet been doing in the airspace of Dagupan City today?

***

A pilot friend in the U S commented on my post at Face Book about the mysterious white plane that passed above our abode. He said it was owned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA) of the Yanks.

I googled again and this was the excerpt of the news from the Philippines News Agency I saw:

"The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Tuesday a DC-8 aircraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) would fly at low altitude over the Manila urban area to study the air quality in the Philippines as part of an international collaboration.

"NASA’s Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ) science mission will deploy the DC-8 aircraft targeting four flights between Feb. 5 and 14.

“The aircraft will fly over the Manila urban area at a safe, low altitude, without harm, to study the air quality in the Philippines as part of the international collaboration of NASA and the DENR,” the DENR said".