ASEANEWS HEADLINE | MANILA: PAF fighter jet with 2 pilots goes missing

MANILA, Philippines — Search and possible recovery operations are underway after one of the FA-50 fighter jets of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) went missing while on mission shortly after midnight yesterday.

The military aircraft had two pilots on board and was on a tactical night operation in support of ground troops when it disappeared and eventually failed to return to the Mactan Air Base in Cebu.

PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said the FA-50 fighter jet “lost communication with the rest of the flight involved in the mission minutes before reaching the target area.”

According to her, the other aircraft that was also part of the operation repeatedly attempted to reestablish contact with the missing aircraft until its return to Mactan.

 

Castillo said the PAF is conducting extensive and thorough search operations, utilizing all available resources to locate the missing fighter jet.

“Our primary concern right now is the safe return of our aircrew. We are hopeful of locating them and the aircraft soon and ask you to join us in prayer during this critical time. Further details will be provided once they are available,” she said in a statement.

Speaking to reporters, she noted that the PAF cannot divulge any other information for the time being to ensure the safety and security of the ongoing operations, including the ongoing search and possible recovery mission.

She acknowledged that this is the first major incident involving the military’s FA-50 fighter aircraft, adding that there are no orders yet to ground the 11 other jets.

Castillo confirmed that the pilots have personal locator beams with them, adding that they cannot yet disclose the tail number of the missing aircraft.

“We are hopeful that we will still be able to recover. We are more concerned about the safety of the aircrew right now, and we are still very optimistic that they are safe,” Castillo said.

The PAF currently has 12 FA-50 fighter jets valued at P18.8 billion that were acquired from South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries.