Philippine Air Force plane crashes in Philippines, 2 dead

A Philippine Air Force (PAF) plane crash-landed in a rice field in Bataan province during a training flight on Wednesday morning, killing two pilots, the military and police said.

PAF spokesperson Colonel Ma. Consuelo Castillo said in a statement that a Marchetti SF260 aircraft with two pilots aboard went down in Bataan province, west of Manila, at around 10:34 a.m. local time.

Castillo declined to confirm reports that the two pilots were killed in the accident. But the provincial police that went to the crash site confirmed the deaths of the two pilots.

Castillo said the plane took off from a military base in Sangley Point in Cavite province at around 9:59 a.m. local time. She said the aircraft was one of the PAF’s attack planes under the 15th Strike Wing.

“We lost track of the plane more than 30 minutes into their flight,” she added.

On Tuesday afternoon, a six- seater private plane with six people, including the pilot, went missing minutes after taking off in Isabela province, north of Manila. A search and rescue operation was underway to find the Cessna plane that has been missing for over 24 hours.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesperson Eric Apolonio said bad weather was hampering the ongoing search and rescue operation