Rescuers find Philippine fighter jet’s wreckage, bodies of 2 pilots

MANILA, Philippines — Rescuers found the wreckage of a Philippine fighter jet and the bodies of its two pilots on Wednesday in a mountainous region in the country’s south where they had been deployed on a nighttime mission to fight communist guerrillas, military officials said.

The FA-50 jet lost communication during the combat mission with other air force aircraft earlier this week before reaching a target area in southern Bukidnon province. The other aircraft were able to return safely to an air base in central Cebu province after carrying out assaults, military officials said.

The FA-50 jet was deployed with other air force aircraft to provide combat support to troops battling dozens of suspected New People’s Army guerrillas near Cabanglasan town in Bukidnon, the military said.

"It was a total wreck,” regional military commander Lt. Gen. Luis Rex Bergante said of the fighter jet’s wreckage, which he said was found by Filipino special forces in a jungle on Mount Kalatungan in Bukidnon.

A regional military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Francisco Garello, said without elaborating that the bodies of the two air force pilots were found near the wreckage.

Pilots can eject from the supersonic jets in case they encounter any problems, but the Philippine air force said it remained unclear if the two pilots aboard the FA-50 ejected as it plummeted.

It was also not immediately clear what caused the crash of the jet, which was acquired by the Philippine government from a South Korean company about a decade ago. An investigation was underway, the air force said.

The rest of the country’s 11 FA-50s were grounded following the incident, according to the Philippine air force.

The Philippines acquired 12 FA-50s multipurpose fighter jets starting in 2015 from South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. The $331 million contract had been the biggest under a military modernization program that has been repeatedly stalled by a lack of funds. The Philippines has plans to acquire another 12 fighter jets from South Korea.

The military estimates about 1,000 communist guerrillas remain after decades of battle setbacks, surrenders and factional fighting. Peace talks brokered by Norway collapsed under previous President Rodrigo Duterte after both sides accused the other of continuing deadly attacks despite the negotiations.

In 2023, the government and the communist rebels agreed to resume talks aimed at ending one of Asia’s longest insurgencies. But the talks still have not restarted under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Aside from anti-insurgency operations, the jets have been used in a range of activities, from major national ceremonies to patrolling the disputed South China Sea.

菲律宾马尼拉——军方官员称，救援人员周三在菲律宾南部山区发现了菲律宾一架战斗机的残骸和两名飞行员的遗体。他们当时被部署到该地区执行夜间任务，打击共产党游击队。

本周早些时候，一架FA-50战机在执行作战任务时，在抵达布基农省南部目标区域前与其他空军飞机失去联系。军方官员表示，其他飞机在完成攻击任务后，已安全返回宿务省中部的一个空军基地。

军方表示，这架 FA-50 喷气式飞机与其他空军飞机一起部署，为在布基农省卡邦拉桑镇附近与数十名疑似新人民军游击队作战的部队提供战斗支援。

“它完全损毁了，”地区军事指挥官路易斯·雷克斯·贝尔甘特中将谈到这架战斗机的残骸时说道。他说，这架战斗机的残骸是由菲律宾特种部队在布基农省卡拉通甘山的丛林中发现的。

地区军事发言人弗朗西斯科·加雷洛中校表示，两名空军飞行员的遗体在飞机残骸附近被发现，但他没有详细说明。

飞行员可以在超音速喷气式飞机遇到任何问题时弹射逃生，但菲律宾空军表示，目前尚不清楚FA-50上的两名飞行员在飞机坠落时是否弹射逃生。

目前尚不清楚这架喷气式飞机坠毁的原因。这架飞机是菲律宾政府大约十年前从一家韩国公司购得的。空军方面表示，调查正在进行中。

据菲律宾空军称，事件发生后，该国其余 11 架 FA-50 战斗机全部停飞。

菲律宾自2015年起从韩国航空航天工业公司（KAI）采购了12架FA-50多用途战斗机。这份价值3.31亿美元的合同是菲律宾军事现代化计划中最大的一笔交易，但该计划因资金短缺而屡次停滞。菲律宾计划再从韩国采购12架战斗机。

军方估计，经过数十年的战斗挫败、投降和派系斗争，目前仍约有1000名共产党游击队员残存。由挪威斡旋的和平谈判在前总统罗德里戈·杜特尔特执政期间破裂，原因是双方都指责对方在谈判期间继续发动致命袭击。

2023年，政府和共产党叛军同意恢复旨在结束亚洲持续时间最长的叛乱之一的谈判。但在小费迪南德·马科斯总统的领导下，谈判至今仍未重启。

除了反叛乱行动外，这些战机还被用于各种活动，从重大国家仪式到在有争议的南海巡逻。