4 pilots killed in mid-air collision of Philippine military planes

Two Philippine Air ⁠Force ⁠aircraft crashed during ⁠a training flight at an air base south of the capital Manila, killing four pilots, the military said on Saturday.

The aviation accident on Friday involved two SF-260 aircraft at the Fernando Air Base in Batangas province, the Philippine Air Force said in ⁠a statement.

“Both aircraft went down within the base perimeter, with no other casualties reported,” Philippine Air Force spokesman Colonel Alvin Capinguian said in a statement.

An investigation was opened to determine the cause of the mishap, and Capinguian said the air force’s fleet of SF-260s had been temporarily grounded as a precaution.

There have been a number of deadly crashes involving Philippine military aircraft in recent years.

In May, ‌two pilots were killed when an ‌SF-260 trainer aircraft crashed in a mountainous area ⁠in northern Philippines, while another SF-260 TP Marchetti ⁠crashed during a 2023 training flight, also killing two pilots.

The military used SF-260 ‌aircraft during ‌months of air strikes on southern Marawi City after militants loyal to Islamic State seized the area in 2017.