Four Philippine Air Force pilots were killed on Friday when two trainer aircraft crashed during a training flight at an air base south of the capital Manila, according to military officials.
The aviation accident took place at the Fernando Air Base in Batangas province and involved two SF-260 aircraft. While local media reports indicate that the two planes collided in midair, the official cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The aircraft went down within the grounds of the military installation, and the Philippine Air Force confirmed that there were no other casualties resulting from the incident. In response to the tragedy, the Air Force has temporarily grounded its entire fleet of SF-260 trainer planes pending the outcome of a formal safety probe.
The SF-260 aircraft platform has a history of fatal training incidents in the country. In May, two pilots lost their lives when an SF-260 trainer aircraft crashed in a mountainous region in the northern Philippines. Another SF-260 TP Marchetti crashed during a training flight in 2023, also resulting in the deaths of two pilots.
Beyond training operations, the Philippine military utilized SF-260 aircraft during months of continuous airstrikes on southern Marawi City after militants loyal to the Islamic State seized the area in 2017.
