PAF’s FA-50 fighter jets grounded following Bukidnon crash
File photo shows the Philippine Air Force’s FA-50 fighter jets (PAF FACEBOOK)
MANILA, Philippines — All FA-50 fighter jets of the Philippine Air Force were grounded after one of the jetscrashed in the Kalatungan mountain range in Bukidnon, PAF Spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo said Wednesday.
“We have 11 FA-50s grounded right now because we have a total of 12 which were acquired in 2015 and 2017,” the PAF official said in an online press conference on Wednesday.
“These 12 aircraft were acquired or delivered within those two years. And so that we’re down, we have one down aircraft, we have 11 remaining which are currently grounded right now,” she added.
The FA-50s were acquired from Korea Aerospace Industries for P18.9 billion during the administration of then-President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino Jr.
On Tuesday, Castillo reported that an FA-50 fighter jet went missing shortly after midnight while en route to Mactan Airbase in Cebu.
The jet was found by ground troops in the vicinity of the Mt. Kalatungan Complex, Bukidnon on Tuesday morning, along with the remains of the two pilots. (With reports from Keith Irish Margareth Clores, INQUIRER.net trainee)
