Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Accidents, 2022-2026

October 25, 2026: Philippine Air Force SF-260 Aircraft are Death Traps, killing eight Pilots in four Crashes in the last three Years
Two SF-260 Basic Trainer Aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) were involved in an Accident recently while conducting a Training Flight over Fernando Air Base in Pampanga. The SF-260 is a two-seater Aircraft, and unfortunately all four Pilots in both Aircraft lost their Lives in the Incident.

The two Aircraft fell within the Perimeter of the Air Base and no other Casualty has been reported. All SF-260 Aircraft have been temporarily Grounded pending the Investigation on the Matter. 

The 2026 World's Air Forces Directory of the Flight International Website lists the PAF as having 18 of this Aircraft in Service as Trainers at the start of this Year, but the ChatGPT Super Intelligence (SI) pointed out that already four such Aircraft have crashed in the last three Years.

One crashed in 2023, and another three this Year. In all four crashes, all of the eight Pilots died or none survived. And in all four Incidents, the SF-260 were just conducting regular Flight when for one Reason or another, the Planes just went down and ended up killing their Pilots.

MY THOUGHTS:
IMHO, all these SF-260 Aircraft should be immediately retired and replaced with better Aircraft, eight dead Pilots in three Years is just too much at this Point. I think though that this will severely affect the Operations of the PAF, so at the very least if they keep these flying then they should put strict Operational Restrictions on them.

These SF-260 Aircraft don't have Ejection Seats, so of course the first Priority would be to get Replacement Aircraft that do have Ejection Seats. However, such Seats will of course add complicated Equipment on the Aircraft and thus will make them not only more expensive to acquire, but also more expensive to maintain.

Next is that as I have been saying whenever a PAF Aircraft Type crashes a lot, sophisticated Full Mission Ground Simulators should be acquired also to help the Pilots train and make mistakes first on those before they fly real Aircraft.

This is especially true for young and inexperienced Pilots, even if they are flying just Basic Trainer Aircraft, they still need to be tested and they still need to learn and correct their Mistakes in a non-lethal Environment. 

So a lot more Things for the PAF to buy now, Basic Trainer Aircraft with Ejection Seats and Full Mission Ground Simulators.

Disclaimer: The pictured SF-260 Aircraft is not necessarily the one that crashed, it is just a representation of how the Aircraft looks like. 
SOURCES:

August 10, 2026: Philippine Air Force FA-50PH Aircraft suffers Mechanical Issue while flying home from Australia, forced to land in Indonesia
One of the FA-50PH Fighting Eagle Aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) that participated in the Pitch Black Exercise suffered a minor Mechanical Issue while on its way home to the Philippines from Australia. 

This forced the Aircraft to make an unscheduled landing in Ambon, Indonesia where PAF Maintenance Personnel inspected and repaired it. The Aircraft was later declared Mission-capable again and continued its Journey back to the Philippines.

March 5, 2025: FA-50PH Wreckage finally found in Mt. Kalatungan in Bukidnon this Morning, and its Crew unfortunately did not survive the Incident
Very sad News today as the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) just confirmed that the search for the FA-50PH Fighting Eagle Aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and its Crew is over, both have been found on Mount Kalatungan in Bukidnon. 

The Aircraft was found approximately at 11:00 am today, Wednesday, March 5, 2025, by the Search and Rescue Teams, and it was a total Wreck. The Crew unfortunatley did not survive the Crash, and were found to be still inside the Aircraft. 

The Personal Locators of the Aircraft were activated, and helped in locating the Wreckage and Bodies. All PAF FA-50PH Aircraft has been grounded for now as a Precautionary Measure. 

MY NOTES: 
It looks like the Crew didn’t even get the chance to eject from the Aircraft for some Reason, which is very sad, indeed. If they did, they likely would’ve survived the Incident. Mt. Kalatungan is one of the Twin Peaks which are virtually side by side in Bukidnon, it is 2.88 km tall. 

This is the first Crash of the FA-50PH since the first of its Aircraft started serving with the PAF in 2015, so now there are only 11 Aircraft left with the PAF. 


February 6, 2025: MD-520MG Helicopter makes an Emergency Landing in Albay
An MD-520MG Light Attack Helicopter of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) with Tail Number 503 made an Emergency Landing in Camalig, Albay recently to evade Bad Weather. The Helicopter was on its Way to Lucena City when the Pilot, the Group Commander of the Tactical Operations Group 5 (TOG-5), Colonel Romulo Dilag, made the Decision to make the Landing. 

He was with two Passengers in the Aircraft, and nobody was hurt in the Incident. Police and Military Forces were deployed to secure the Aircraft, which is expected to stay overnight in Camalig. This is the second time I’ve read about the PAF Helicopters doing this, and I think it is a good Idea to save the Aircraft and its Passengers rather than risk having an Accident. 

These Photos of the MD-520MG are not from the Incident, they were taken from the MD-520MG Aircraft Gallery of the 15th Strike Wing Website. 
SOURCES:

November 2, 2024: C295 loses Tire when landing in Batanes while carrying Food Packs
Sad News recently when one of the C295 Medium Transport Aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) lost one of the Tires of its Nose Gear when trying to land in Basco, Batanes. The Aircraft was carrying Family Food Packs for the Victims of the recent Typhoons in the Area. 

None of the Aircraft's Pilots and Crew were hurt in the Incident. The PAF has around seven of this these Aircraft which were bought from Spain, and as far as I can remember, this is the first time that a serious Accident like this happened with this type of Aircraft with the PAF. 

The Incident is still under Investigation, but the Aircraft’s heavy Load and the short Length of the Runway (as I understand it) there in Basco might have something to do with what happened. Anyway, let’s wait for the official Findings of the Investigation, hopefully the PAF will release it to the Public.


September 29, 2024: PAF Black Hawk Helicopter makes an Emergency Landing at a School in Zamboanga Del Sur
An S-70i Black Hawk Helicopter of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) headed to Cotabato City decided to make an Emergency Landing at the Tukuran Central Elementary School in Zamboanga Del Sur recently due to unfavorable Weather. 

No Casualties were reported in the Incident, but it did cause some minor Disturbance in the Area due to the strong Rotor Wash of the Aircraft. I think what happened here is that these S-70i Helicopters have Weather Radars that allows them to detect Bad Weather Conditions in the Path of the Aircraft. 

It allows them to avoid the Weather, but not go thru them, and the Pilots of the Aircraft decided to temporarily land the Helicopter and let the Bad Weather pass before continuing their Flight later. 


June 13, 2024: PAF W-3A Sokol Helicopter makes Emergency Landing in Tarlac
A W-3A Sokol Helicopter of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) suffered Engine Trouble on one of its two Engines recently, causing it to make an Emergency Landing at an Open Rice Field in Moncada, Tarlac recently. Luckily, nobody was hurt in the Incident.

As a Follower pointed out Years ago, PAF Sokols have suffered a number of Accidents already, but so far none have caused Fatalities as far as I know. Contrast this to how many Filipinos have died due to UH-1 Huey Helicopter crashes. 

One main Reason for that I think is because of the Sokol’s twin Engines, giving it a better Margin of Error where if one Engine suffers a Problem, then the other Engine is still able to land the Aircraft without any serious Damage or Casualties.

Here is the Link to the Post on Facebook by the Provincial Government of Tarlac Page containing the original Picture: https://web.facebook.com/ProvincialGovernmentofTarlac/posts/pfbid02g6urYt2m1gLoow2seXc1fffHvXcmN2rspynXAGgndYnjHcEFzuAEhmNvgjtSFpJql
SOURCE: Provincial Government of Tarlac Facebook Page Post, 06/13/24 - 1624H {Archived Link}

April 11, 2024: PN R22 Helicopter crashes in Cavite, two Pilots dead
A sad Day today as two Pilots of the Philippine Navy (PN) died when their R22 Helicopter crashed in Cavite City this Morning. The Aircraft was reportedly conducting a Routine Training Flight when it crashed just 10 minutes after take off. 

Rescuers were able to extract the Pilots from the Wreckage and took them to two separate Hospitals, but they were still declared dead there later. Witnesses said they noticed the Helicopter already flying at an unusually low altitude before it hit some Trees which caused it to crash.

Here is the Link to the Article at “The Canberra Times” Website: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8589097/navy-pilots-killed-as-philippine-helicopter-crashes/

December 9, 2023: PAF NC-212i Transport Aircraft suffers a Minor Accident at Palawan Airport
An NC-212i Light Transport Aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) suffered a Minor Accident recently when it skidded off the Runway and ended up into the Grassy Area at the Puerto Princesa Airport in Palawan. 

No Property was damaged and none of the five Passengers and Crew onboard the Aircraft were hurt in the Incident. The Aircraft itself was not damaged and is currently fully operational
SOURCES: 

October 4, 2023: “Glorified Crop Duster” donated by the US catches fire and makes Emergency Landing in Cebu
The Engine of one of the three Cessna C-208B Grand Caravan EX Aircraft that the United States (US) donated to the Philippines caught fire shortly after taking off at the Mactan Cebu International Airport recently and causing it to make an Emergency Landing.

Nobody was hurt in the Incident, but the Plane did get stuck for some time in the Runway, causing a total of 17 Local and International Flights to be delayed. ‘Nagbigay nga ng bago, puro palpak naman. “Glorified Crop Dusters pa’ (They gave these as brand new, and still ended up as Failures. And these are just “Glorified Crop Dusters”)

April 24, 2023: Another SF260 Aircraft of the PAF involved in an Accident, the second one in 2023
An SF260FH Aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) reportedly encountered an upwind while taking off at the Fernando Air Base in Lipa City in Batangas, causing it to do a hard landing within the Base’s Perimeter Area. Both Pilots survived the Accident, suffering only Bruises and Scratches. This is the second SF260 Aircraft of the PAF this Year of 2023, the previous one was in January when an SF260TP crashed in Bataan killing both Pilots

July 13, 2022: The Philippine Army (PA) has ruled out Sabotage as the cause of the Fire and Explosion of an Ammunition Depot at Camp Edilberto Evangelista in Cagayan De Oro City recently, saying that the Locks to the Depot had not been tampered with and that the Depot had gotten an updated Safety Inspection Certificate just this March of 2022
SOURCE: Sabotage ruled out in Ammo Dump blaze: Army Official {Archived Link}

July 12, 2022: Three People were injured when a Fire occurred and followed by Explosions at the Ammunition Depot of the Philippine Army (PA) in Camp Evangelista in Cagayan De Oro City recently. The Depot reportedly contained Small Arms and 155 mm Howitzer Ammunition. The Cause of the Fire is currently still under investigation

May 13, 2022: One of the Tires of an NC-212i Transport Aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) exploded during Landing at the Laoag Airport in Ilocos Norte this Morning, but all five People onboard were unhurt by the Incident
SOURCE: PH Air Force Plane runs aground at Laoag Airport {Archived Link}

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