Four Pilots Killed in Collision of Two Military Aircraft

Philippine officials reported that two aircraft from the Philippine Air Force collided during a training mission and crashed at an air base south of Manila, resulting in the deaths of the four pilots who were on board.

The two "SF-260" model aircraft collided while flying at low altitude late Friday afternoon, then crashed at Fernando Air Base in the city of Lipa in the coastal province of Batangas, south of the capital Manila.

Officials stated that the incident did not result in any ground injuries.

The Philippine Air Force did not provide details about what it described as a crash incident. Two Philippine officials familiar with the events said the two aircraft collided in mid-air. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the incident.

The Air Force said it has temporarily grounded all its "SF-260" aircraft, which were acquired from Italy, pending an investigation into the accident. It did not disclose the number of remaining "SF-260" aircraft in the Air Force inventory.

The incident is considered a setback for the Philippine military, which suffers from underfunding.