Missing FA-50 fighter jet crashed in Bukidnon, AFP confirms

Wreckage of the fighter jet found within Mount Kalatungan mountain range

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Air Force’s FA-50 fighter jet that went missing has crashed in Bukidnon while on its way for an operation against militant insurgents in the island of Mindanao, army officials confirmed.

The Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced on Wednesday, March 5, 2025,  that they found the wreckage of the fighter jet within the Mount Kalatungan mountain range – a day after it went missing.

In an interview with Manila-based radio station dzBB, the army also confirmed discovering the bodies of the two pilots in the same area.

READ: PH fighter jet went missing after supporting troops in Bukidnon

On Tuesday, March 4, the PAF reported that they lost communications with a FA-50 fighter jets shortly after taking off from the Mactan-Benito Ebuen Airbase in Cebu.

Onboard were two crew members, including its pilot, whose bodies were also found on the crash site. 

The FA-50 fighter jet went missing during a tactical night operation early Tuesday morning en route to Mactan airbase in Cebu, according to Philippine Air Force (PAF) spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo.

Maj. Francisco Garello, army’s 4th infantry division’s spokesperson, said there was an encounter in Barangay Iba in Cabanglasan town also in Bukidnon province.

“Our forces requested close air support from our air assets to preserve our forces and to avoid casualties,” Garello said in a phone interview.

Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala told AFP the missing FA-50 jet was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops engaged in a firefight overnight in Mindanao’s Bukidnon province. / with reports from INQUIRER.net, AFP