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| Photo: Philippine FA-50 fighter jet |
KOMPUTER JADUL-, Two Philippine Air Force pilots have been killed after their fighter jet crashed while on an anti-insurgency mission in the country's southern provinces. The wreckage of the FA-50 fighter jet has been found in a mountainous area.
The Philippine Air Force (PAF) earlier reported that the fighter jet lost contact with another fighter jet during a "tactical" flight mission near Cebu. The fighter jet disappeared "minutes before reaching the target area". However, it was not immediately clear when the crash occurred.
The PAF said in a statement, as reported by Reuters, Wednesday (3/5/2025), that the fighter jet lost contact while on a mission in Bukidnon province shortly after midnight on Tuesday (3/4) local time, triggering a search and rescue operation.
Philippine military officials said that the wreckage of the fighter jet, and the bodies of the two military pilots who were flying the plane, were found in the Kalatungan mountain area in the southern Mindanao region on Wednesday (3/5) local time.
"The debris indicates that it was an accident," Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Consuelo Castillo told reporters.
Castillo added that an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the jet crash.
In an earlier statement, Castillo called the crash "the first major military incident involving" the FA-50 fighter jet squadron, which has previously been used in training exercises in the disputed South China Sea.
Another 11 FA-50s, purchased from South Korea and owned by the Philippines, were grounded after the crash.
The Philippines acquired 12 FA-50s from South Korea in 2014 as part of a military modernization program to boost domestic security and improve its ability to defend its maritime borders from China in the South China Sea.
"Our goal is to immediately stop their operations so as not to unduly disrupt our operations," Castillo said.
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