Four pilots killed in Philippine Air Force mid-air collision

Four pilots were killed when two military training aircraft collided mid-air during a joint exercise over Fernando Air Base in Lipa, Batangas province, south of Manila, the Philippine Air Force announced.

The collision occurred on Friday, October 23, at 3:51 p.m. local time. According to reports, both aircraft were flying at low altitude during the training exercise when they struck each other and crashed within the military base perimeter. Footage circulated on social media captured the moment of impact and the planes plummeting to the ground.

Both aircraft were SF-260 single-engine trainers used by the Philippine Air Force for pilot instruction. One of the planes came down near military housing on the base, but no additional casualties were reported among base personnel or civilians.

Four pilots killed as two Philippine Air Force trainers collide mid-air (Photo: Social media)

Following the disaster, the Philippine Air Force announced a temporary grounding of all SF-260 aircraft pending completion of an investigation into the circumstances of the crash. Emergency response teams were dispatched to the scene, and an inquiry has been opened to determine what led to the fatal collision.

The Air Force confirmed the deaths of all four pilots and expressed condolences to their families. The names of the deceased have not been released, and the military requested privacy for the families during this difficult time.

SF-260 training aircraft (By Rob Schleiffert - SF260s, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31869923)

The accident adds to a series of incidents involving the same aircraft model. In May of this year, two pilots were killed when an SF-260 crashed during a training flight in Benguet province in the northern Philippines. In 2023, another SF-260 went down during a training exercise, killing both crew members aboard.

The investigation into the current disaster is ongoing, and no official findings regarding the cause of the collision have been released at this stage.