PAF: Training planes in fatal crash not yet that old

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Tuesday sought to dispel speculation that the aircraft involved in last week’s crash that killed four pilots during training were already aging or had virtually become “flying coffins.”

The PAF said its SF-260 training aircraft remained within their prescribed operating limits despite being more than a decade old.

The armed service issued the clarification as it continued to investigate the midair collision in Batangas province that killed four pilots on Oct. 23.

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PAF spokesperson Col. Alvin Jay Capinguian said the planes, acquired brand-new between 2010 and 2011, still had several years of service life remaining as far as aircraft standards are concerned.

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“In aviation, we’d like to dispel the notion of katandaan (old age),” Capinguian said, adding that an aircraft’s operational capability is measured by its accumulated flight hours rather than its chronological age.

“They are well within their airframe operating hours, and they still have several years of operation to go,” he said.

The Air Force has grounded its remaining 15 SF-260 aircraft following the collision of two planes during a training flight at Fernando Air Base in Lipa City on Friday.

The accident killed Maj. David Joshua Rojo, 1st Lt. Raymart Cabangcala of Pangasinan, 1st Lt. Angeleo Adrian Peñaflor of Cagayan and Capt. Ma. Melvin Acebuque of Baguio City.

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The PAF said it was coordinating the extension of government assistance to the bereaved families.

Capinguian said investigators had secured the crash site and collected debris from the aircraft but were withholding preliminary findings to avoid speculation about the cause of the accident.

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He said investigators were examining a range of possible factors, including environmental conditions, aircraft components, fuel, oil, flight planning and operations.

“We cannot look at one, any one angle kasi we don’t know baka may nakakaligtaan tayo (because we don’t know if we might be overlooking something),” he said.

The PAF has not set a timeline for completing the investigation or lifting the grounding order.

Capinguian said corrective measures would be introduced once investigators determined what went wrong.

He also confirmed that the SF-260 aircraft are not equipped with ejection seats, although pilots carry parachutes as part of their flight gear.

Pilots must first exit the aircraft before deploying their parachutes, he explained.

Training to continue

Despite the fatal collision, the PAF will not suspend formation flying, which Capinguian described as a core competency of military pilots.

“Formation flying is inherently dangerous,” he said, stressing that pilots must continue practicing the maneuver to maintain their proficiency.

He said the grounding of the SF-260 fleet had not affected students at the PAF Flying School because one class had already completed its flight requirements and was preparing to graduate, while another was still undergoing classroom instruction.

The pilots involved in the collision were conducting upgrade training and were no longer students, he added.

The flying school also operates T-41D aircraft, which may be used for flight lessons while the SF-260 fleet remains grounded.

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Capinguian said the Air Force would wait for the investigation’s findings before determining what changes, if any, were needed to prevent similar accidents. INQ