MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Air Force (PAF) confirmed that an FA-50 fighter jet “went missing” during a tactical night operation past midnight Tuesday, March 4.
“The aircraft lost communication with the rest of the flight involved in the mission minutes before reaching the target area. The other aircraft repeatedly attempted to re-establish contact with the missing aircraft until their return to Mactan, Cebu,” said PAF spokesperson Colonel Maria Consuelo Castillo in a statement on March 4.
“The PAF is conducting extensive and thorough search operations, utilizing all available resources, to locate the missing jet fighter aircraft. Our primary concern 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,” Castillo added.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Castillo said it was the “first major incident involving our fighter aircraft.”
All pilots have personal locator beacons, but Castillo declined to disclose if those beacons were still emitting signals.
The FA-50 was deployed as “part of [the PAF’s] regular support to the ongoing operations of our Unified Commands,” said Castillo, without providing details.
“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,” she said.
No other information about the missing fighter jet was available as of posting.
The PAF has a fleet of 12 FA-50 light combat aircraft, acquired under the administration of the late president Benigno Aquino III. Manila had earlier said it plans to acquire 12 more FA-50 light combat aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries. – Rappler.com