4 PAF pilots killed in Batangas crash

MANILA, Philippines — Four Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilots were killed after two SF-260 aircraft crashed during a training flight in Batangas on Friday, the Air Force confirmed on Saturday.

The PAF has described the incident as an “aviation accident” and could not immediately confirm if what had happened was a collision.

Both aircraft went down within the perimeter of Fernando Air Base in Lipa City at around 3:51 p.m. on Friday, the PAF said, adding that “an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident, while all SF-260 aircraft have been temporarily grounded as a precautionary safety measure.”

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Agence France-Presse (AFP) said in its report, also citing the PAF, that the two planes crashed following a “mid-air collision” during training.

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This was the second such fatal incident in five months involving trainer aircraft.

READ: 2 PAF pilots dead in Benguet trainer aircraft crash

The Air Force has yet to identify the four pilots. No other casualties were reported. It said it was coordinating with the families of the four pilots to provide assistance and appealed to the public to respect their privacy.

“The PAF honors the service and sacrifice of our fallen aviators,” it said.

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READ: Grounding of PAF planes after crash delays training

The SF-260 is a light aircraft used by the Air Force for pilot training.

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The PAF initially confirmed the incident on Friday afternoon but did not immediately disclose whether there were casualties.

At the time, it said emergency response measures had been activated and teams dispatched to secure the area and conduct initial assessments, with the safety of personnel and people nearby as its immediate priority.

PAF spokesperson Col. Alvin Jay Capinguian also said on Friday emergency response measures were activated, with response teams dispatched to secure the area and conduct initial assessments.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Saturday said the investigation would examine pilot training, command leadership, flight planning and possible maintenance issues.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Military Academy’s 128th founding anniversary in Baguio City, Teodoro said the PAF had identified gaps following the earlier accident and was pursuing “remedial measures.”

Asked whether aircraft maintenance or modernization would be examined, he said “all these will come out and will be investigated.”

“That’s why the Air Force Safety Office had been strengthened to make it nearly independent, with other experts involved so that the circumstances behind all these accidents will come out, nothing will be hidden,” he added.

Teodoro said accident investigations must follow established procedures, including postmortem toxicology examinations—which he said had sometimes been skipped in the past because of concerns raised by families.

He also cautioned against speculation while investigators were gathering evidence, citing the practice followed by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in carefully reviewing evidence before releasing findings.

“Even in the NTSB they’re very careful in releasing information because it must be factual and not speculative,” Teodoro said. “We know that there were four fatalities and two aircraft that were totally destroyed, and that’s about it.”

Previous crash

The latest incident came five months after an SF-260 crashed on May 20 following a long-range navigation training flight in Tuba, Benguet.

The fatalities were 1st Lt. Ruth Angelique Pasos, an instructor pilot, and her student, 2nd Lt. Cherky Embudo.

Their aircraft was among 11 SF-260s that left Fernando Air Base in Batangas for Baguio City. The 10 other aircraft completed their flights.

Following that incident, the Air Force grounded its 16 remaining SF-260s, disrupting the final phase of the military pilot training.

At the time, then-PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Christina Basco said the service was using other training aircraft, including Cessnas, while investigators examined possible human, mechanical and weather-related factors behind the accident.

Basco maintained that the SF-260 remained a reliable aircraft for pilot training despite questions about its age, saying the fleet underwent regular maintenance.

The Air Force has not disclosed when the grounded aircraft were cleared to resume operations.

In April 2023, an SF-260 crashed within Fernando Air Base during a training flight. The instructor pilot and student pilot survived after maneuvering the aircraft toward an open area.

Three months earlier that year, two PAF pilots were killed on Jan. 25 when their SF-260TP light attack aircraft crashed on a rice field in Pilar, Bataan, during their training flight.

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The Air Force subsequently grounded their remaining aircraft pending an investigation. —With reports from Joanna Rose Aglibot and Agence France-Presse