Philippine air force plane crashes, two pilots missing

[zam_xy]

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The Philippine Air Force said Monday two pilots were missing after their twin-engine propellor plane went down at sea during a night flying mission.
The OV-10 Bronco, used largely as a maritime patrol support aircraft, failed to return to an air strip on the western island of Palawan Sunday night, air force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Okol told AFP.
"Combined elements of the coastguard and the navy have found parts of the debris and it appears to be the rear cargo compartment of the vessel," Okol said.
"We are still holding out hope that the two pilots were able to eject... we are searching for them."
Okol said the pilots had radioed the control tower that they were five nautical miles off the airfield and preparing to land before they crashed.
"At this point, we could not yet speculate as to what exactly happened," he said, adding the weather was clear.
The crash is the latest in a string of deadly accidents involving surplus and often old foreign aircraft acquired by the Philippine military.
The air force's fleet of 30 Broncos were acquired from the United States in 1991 and Thailand in 2004.
Developed in the 1960s as a counter-insurgency aircraft by the US Air Force, the Broncos can carry heavy ammunition for a few hours in the air.
They are used primarily for close air support missions against Muslim and communist insurgents, mainly on the southern island of Mindanao, Okol said.
However, they are also used to monitor the archipelago's extensive coastal areas, as well as for search and rescue missions in the disaster-prone Philippines, he added.
Okol would not say exactly how old the crashed plane was, but insisted that all of the Broncos were in good condition.
"They have received a good number of upgrades, and we maintain them very well," he said.
The Philippine military is among the most poorly equipped in the region, and past modernisation efforts have consisted mostly of surplus hardware acquired from its traditional ally, the United States.
In May, two pilots were killed when an air force trainer plane crashed north of Manila
In 2010, eight air force personnel and a civilian were killed when a light cargo airplane crashed in the southern city of Cotabato.
Philippine air force plane crashes, two pilots missing

[lstorya]

From what I heard, bisan ang plane wala na kit-an right? Or am I wrong? Basin gidagan ang plane sa mga pilots ba, hehehehehe, ala "Broken Arrow".

[cobraKing]

louya sa mga pilots ani oi..suicide mission nsad ni??

[balipseyev]

From what I heard, bisan ang plane wala na kit-an right? Or am I wrong? Basin gidagan ang plane sa mga pilots ba, hehehehehe, ala "Broken Arrow".

Some of the planes wreckage has been found...

Minus 1 nasad ang eroplano...


air force spokesman col miguel ernesto okol

(indication it crashed) well as of this moment we have to confirm it did bec meron nang debris na nakuha sa area, last known location, kasi lahat ng aircraft namin ngayon is equipped with a tracking device so meron na kaming last known position since last night pa, dun nagstop e, yung trackin device so pinapunta na namin yung coast guard and navy vessels syempre wala namang visibility kagabi so this morning nandun na sila plus yun helicopters natin at saka yung islanders so yun meron na kaming narecover na debris within that grid square so dun tayo nagkoconcentrate
(specific, how many miles from shore) thats about five nautical miles from a, ang last known position nya is around five nautical miles from runway 27 of (palawan?) nasa may palawan bay area, nandun dun, medyo nagdrift ng kunti northward pero its still pasok dun sa grid nung last known position nya so nandun lang yun
(dun din recovered debris, five nautical miles) yes yes oo oo
(apparenty approachin runway) it was already, ang last transmitting nya is on final approach
(last contact with pilot kung may problema) that that that is, wala wala wala syang distress, wala syang mayday, so were still findin out bakit
(grounded ov10 as a result) yes yes by per instructions
(may ongoin investigation) we are still concentrating on the search, dun muna yung efforts natin
(iang ov10 remaining natin) we have a squadron of ov10s and that is distributed around the country
(ilan squadron) around eight, mga eight to 12 yan

[NapoleonBlownapart]

kaluoy sa mga pilots.. maayo unta makit-an na ni sila..

[ad_dur]

God save their souls ....

[lhorenzoo]

need for new upgrades .mayta ilisan nag mga latest og brand new ang mga planes nato diha sa airforce

[noy.juan]

need for new upgrades .mayta ilisan nag mga latest og brand new ang mga planes nato diha sa airforce

OV-10 are indispensable asset on COIN operation, nonetheless the question, lies why use OV-10 was used on maritime patrol? i know it can do it but why? are S211 still grounded due to the recent loss on the WPS during also a maritime mission?.... one more question still bugs me... OP-DND allegedly has predator drone register under this office... i wonder what happen to those... if we want to cover our vast coastline... UAV should be the most coast effective tech should AFP ever considers it...

this is not an old plane this has gone SLEP (Service Life Extension Program) couple years ago... so basicly everything under the hood and its frame are new...

[flanker]

Another blow to Phil Airforce. Hope the two pilots are alive.

[soundstreammsi]

high time for PAF and DND to consider them super tuscanos for COIN OP
Super-T – Brazilian-designed and combat-proven aircraft A-29 Super Tucano

Hope ma recover pa atong PAF pilots.
RIP if wa na jud.. ka sayang nila.