AFP honors pilots as jet wreckage found
Major Jude Salang-oy (left) and 1Lt. April John Dadulla, pilots of the ill-fated Philippine Air Force FA-50PH fighter jet, went missing on March 4, 2025. Their wreckage and bodies were discovered at the Mount Kalatungan range in Bukidnon province, as confirmed by the military on Wednesday (March 5, 2025). (Contributed photos)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) honored the pilots who perished in the ill-fated Philippine Air Force (PAF) FA-50PH fighter jet on Wednesday, after the wreckage and the pilots’ bodies were found in Bukidnon province.
Maj. Jude Salang-oy and 1Lt. April John Dadulla, the jet’s pilots, were reported missing shortly after midnight Tuesday, after the aircraft lifted off from Mactan, Cebu to support ground troops against communist rebels.
The wreckage was found in the Mount Kalatungan range, near the border of Pangantucan and Talakag towns, as confirmed by Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Salvacion Evangelista.
Lt. Col. Francisco Garello, chief of the 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, said the 1st Special Forces Battalion of the 403rd Infantry Brigade was tasked with retrieving the remains.
“From the crash site, the troops will carry the bodies to a nearby landing zone, and a PAF helicopter will airlift them,” he said.
Salang-oy was a delegate at the 2023 International Aerospace Symposium in South Korea.
Dadulla was a native of Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.
The PAF has grounded its FA-50 fleet and vowed a thorough investigation into the tragedy.
