A Philippine Air Force (PAF) FA-50 fighter jet carrying two-member crew went missing on March 4 during an aerial support mission for ground forces in southern Mindanao.
PAF spokesperson Colonel Consuelo Castillo was quoted by local media as saying that the aircraft was deployed on a night mission to assist troops engaged in a firefight with insurgents in a mountainous area.
Castillo said the jet lost contact with other aircraft in the formation a few minutes before reaching the target area.
Search efforts are now underway around Mount Kilakiron and Mount Kalatungan, where the jet was last spotted.
Colonel Castillo confirmed this is the first major incident involving the FA-50 fleet, which the Philippines acquired from the Republic of Korea over the past decade. In January, domestic media reported that the Philippine government was considering purchasing an additional 12 FA-50 jets.
In recent years, the Philippines has experienced several fatal military aviation accidents. In April last year, two navy pilots were killed when a Robinson R22 helicopter fell down near a market south of Manila. In January 2023, two pilots died when a Marchetti SF260 propeller aircraft crashed into a rice field./.
VNA
