The Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Tuesday said the flight data recorder of the ill-fated FA-50PH fighter jet with tail number “002” will be sent to the United States (US) for data extraction procedures.

In a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo, PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said the investigating team that went up to Mt. Kalatungan in Bukidnon — the crash site — is on their way down.

“They have already secured the area and they will continue their investigation at Basa Air Base, Pampanga,” she said. 

“As the updates regarding flight data recorder, it will be sent to the United States for extraction of the voice and data details, and then the details will be transmitted to the original equipment manufacturer in South Korea,” she added.

Castillo stressed that the move would help in the investigation of the aircraft mishap.

The PAF official also noted that the device could provide information on the altitude, airspeed, and flight path or direction taken by the crashed FA-50 aircraft.

It would also provide information to investigators regarding the problems the pilots encountered during the flight.

“That’s the usual process for flight data recorder extraction of data considering also the impact. We would have to extract the memory card, so there’s a process. We have experts in the US who are capable of extracting the data coming from our flight data recorder,” Castillo said. 

The Philippines acquired the FA-50 fleet from South Korea’s primary aerospace company, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), for P18.9 billion, with the delivery made in batches from 2015 to 2017.

The FA-50PH has a top speed of Mach 1.5, which is one and a half times the speed of sound. It is equipped with hard points, allowing it to carry air-to-air missiles, including the AIM-9 "Sidewinder" heat-seeking missiles, in addition to light automatic cannons, machine guns, and bombs.

“'Yung flight data recorder would have to be sent to the US for extraction of the data and magkakaroon ng eventual assessment ang ating original equipment manufacturer, KAI. They are also helping us in the investigation and assessments,” she said. 

According to Castillo, the extraction of data from the flight data recorder may take “a few days.”

PAF pilots Major Jude Salang-oy and First Lieutenant April John Dadulla were killed when their aircraft crashed in the vicinity of Mount Kalatungan in Bukidnon past midnight on Tuesday, March 4.

The fighter jet was providing close air support to ground troops conducting an operation against members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Iba in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon, when it lost communication with the rest of the flight.

The remains of the two pilots, as well as the wreckage of the crashed aircraft, were found the next day.

PAF investigators reached the crash site on Saturday.

Castillo said the PAF investigators reached the crash site on Saturday. They immediately checked the aircraft wreckage and studied the point of impact of the incident.

“The PAF investigating team, which went to Mount Kalatungan, is almost done with their investigation there and are preparing to go down. But that’s after they have secured all the aircraft parts that need to be brought down, at the same time, make sure that they leave the area safe and secured,” she said. 

Castillo said the investigators are looking into “material, mechanical, environmental, and human factors” to determine the cause of the crash.

“We also have to look at environmental factors, the wind, precipitation, everything that could possibly have contributed to the accident. It’s a confluence of a lot of factors,” she continued.