A bomber plane of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) crashed on the sea Friday while its two pilots were conducting proficiency training in Cavite, a military official said.
The two pilots safely ejected and were rescued by fishermen and brought to Banog area, according to a police report.
PAF spokesman Maj. Aristedes Galang said the crash of the OV10 aircraft resulted in the grounding of the five remaining bomber planes as part of the standard operating procedure for safety of pilots.
“There will be investigation on what really happened. So far, we still do not know what went wrong,” Galang said.
He said that the aircraft is yet to be located but the information they received is that it crashed some three nautical miles southwest of Sangley Point in Cavite.
In a police report reaching Camp Crame, the OV10 was reportedly being piloted by 1st Lt. Uriel Pangket and 1st Lt. Razelle Cerdenia when something went wrong on the aircraft.
“Duty guard in Banog area (end of Runway 25) heard a banging sound while the aircraft is going down and saw the pilots ejected,” a police report read.
“Fisherman onboard two civilian boats rescued the pilots and brought them to Banog area,” it added.
Galang said the two pilots suffered minor bruises.
“They are both experienced pilots. They are on proficiency training to further hone their skills,” said Galang.
The PAF has been upgrading its operational capability in the past years. A few years ago, it procured 12 fighter jets from South Korea, some of them were used in air raids during the Marawi City siege. (Aaron Recuenco)