Four pilots killed as two training aircraft crash inside Batangas base

The Philippine military announced on Saturday that four pilots were killed after two Air Force training aircraft crashed during a training flight at Fernando Air Base in Batangas province, south of Manila.

A statement from the Air Force to Reuters said the accident occurred on Friday and involved two aircraft of the "SF-260" model. Local media reported that the two aircraft collided in mid-air before falling inside the base perimeter, with no other injuries reported.

The Air Force has temporarily suspended operations of its fleet of the same trainer type until investigations are completed and the causes of the crashes are determined.

The incident follows previous accidents involving the same model; in May two pilots were killed when a training aircraft crashed in a mountainous area in northern Philippines, and a crash of an "SF-260TP Marchetti" during a training flight in 2023 also killed two pilots.

SF-260 aircraft were used by the Philippine military in months-long air strikes on Marawi in the country's south in 2017, after fighters loyal to ISIS seized parts of the city.