The Philippines air force has grounded its Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50PH light combat aircraft following a fatal crash during a nighttime mission.
The country’s military has located the crash site, and has confirmed that both pilots were killed, according to local media reports.
The accident occurred in mountainous terrain on the island of Mindanao during the early morning of 4 March. The aircraft had deployed from Mactan-Benito air base on the island of Cebu to support ground forces who were fighting communist guerillas near the town of Cabanglasan.
One report suggests that the pilots did attempt to eject.
Other aircraft on the mission were able to return safely to base.
An investigation will be conducted into the accident.
Following the crash, Manila has 11 FA-50PHs.
In July 2024 a KAI official told FlightGlobal that it has a programme to update Manila’s FA-50PHs with a new datalink as well as larger external fuel tanks.
Manila also aims to obtain an additional 12 examples, with a decision expected this year. The new jets will eschew the existing mechanically scanned radar in favour of the Raytheon Phantom Strike active electronically scanned array radar.
