PAF: Crashed FA-50’s flight data recorder recovered

The flight data recorder of the crashed FA-50 fighter jet in Bukidnon has been retrieved, according to the Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Thursday.

“Yes, we don't call it a black box actually. That's a more civilian term. We call it a flight data recorder,” PAF spokesperson Colonel Ma. Consuelo Castillo told reporters in an interview when asked if the black box was recovered.

“It will be brought to the experts. And what we're going to find there, the usual data, flight data, all the flight data, the altitude, the airspeed, all the other things,” she added.

According to her, authorities can also check if there was a problem through the aircraft's flight data recorder.

The FA-50 fighter jet with tail number 002 went missing early Tuesday morning during a tactical night operation in support of ground troops, according to the PAF.

“Shortly after midnight on March 4, 2025, an FA-50 fighter jet, went missing during a Tactical Night Operations. The aircraft lost communication with the rest of the flight involved in the mission minutes before reaching the target area,” Castillo earlier said.

On Wednesday morning, the aircraft was found wrecked with two cadavers in the vicinity of the Mt. Kalatungan Complex.

Castillo said the PAF refused to reveal the names of the pilots as the military still has to verify if the remains belong to them. 

The bodies of the two pilots have been extracted from the crash site in Mt. Kalatungan on Thursday, the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) said.

According to 4ID spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Garello, the cadavers were recovered around 1 a.m., carried to Pangantucan in Bukidnon, and then transported to Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental.

Castillo said the PAF will bring the remains of the two pilots to Villamor Air Base in Pasay City in Metro Manila by Friday or Saturday morning.

She said awards will be given to the deceased pilots.

“Precisely why we have requested the families to have the remains of the pilots brought to Manila because we would want to give our aircrew the appropriate honors... Definitely, there will be awards given to them,” she said.

Meanwhile, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said that the operations of the military in Bukidnon are still ongoing.

Asked about the protests calling for the AFP to stop its alleged bombing in the provinces, Padilla said that the military is on the way to finish the insurgency problem and wants to maintain its efforts.

“Nakita niyo naman yung operations natin. We are well on the way to finishing this insurgency problem once and for all. Ang ating shift from [internal security operation] to [territorial defense operation], we are well within targets,” Padilla said.

(You saw our operations. We are well on the way to finishing this insurgency problem once and for all. Our shift from internal security operation to territorial defense operation, we are well within targets.)

“We have one weakened guerilla front na ide-declare to zero. So ang gusto natin ma-maintain natin ito as we continue to shift to territorial defense,” she added.

(We have one weakened guerilla front that will be declared to zero. So what we want is for us to maintain this as we continue to shift to territorial defense.) –NB, GMA Integrated News