TANAY, RIZAL — The aircraft mishap involving one FA-50 fighter jet last March 4 in Bukidnon province “points to a confluence of factors” but no technical or mechanical problem.

Philippine Air Force (PAF) spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo reported this at a press conference at Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal, on Tuesday.

“This mishap was caused by many factors that interplay. It is very clear, based on the data that was extracted and assessed—there was no technical or mechanical problem that caused the mishap,” Castillo told reporters, citing the complete result of the investigation.

Castillo said these factors include the inherent risks of night flying over mountainous terrain and complicated multi-aircraft combat operations.

“The confluence of factors are attributable to incurrent risks of interment of factors such as night flying and flying over mountainous terrain. At the same time, there are the operational risks and the complexity of operating that multiple aircraft in a combat situation. These are the factors that interplay causing a mishap,” she said.

Also, Castillo lamented that flying in mountainous terrain also induced difficulties as there’s a need to consider other aspects concerning the operational areas.

“Whenever flying mountainous terrains, there are other factors—the visibility, the wind conditions and besides that, it is very difficult to fly multiple aircraft. So there’s a lot of coordination that needs to be done flawlessly,” she said.

“We emphasized that the event was caused by a confluence of factors interplaying at that moment. First is an inherent risk of night flying—it’s a very difficult mission, considering also that is a combat mission,” she further reiterated.

Following the ill-fated incident, Castillo said the PAF is committed to ensuring the enhancement of safety protocols in its air operations.

“Not only unilaterally as an organization but we intend to also have better coordination with our stakeholders, with ground troops that we are supporting so that in the future whenever we conduct this air support operations—in tandem of other major services—we will be able to ensure the safety not only for our pilots but also for the people on the ground,” she added.

She also noted that the PAF has reviewed different aspects including mission planning, preparation, and the way they execute using their tactics, techniques, and procedures in air operations.

“Right now we urge everyone to have more understanding and consideration. We appeal against finger-pointing at this point. What is important is that the Philippine Air Force recognizes that we need to improve on our safety protocols," she said.

"That is our commitment to enhance our safety protocols so that we can ensure that our future operations are safe not only for our pilots but for the preservation of our equipment," she added.

The PAF grounded all of its remaining FA-50s pending an investigation into the ill-fated incident involving one of its jet fighters with tail number 002 (FA-50PH 002) while conducting a tactical night operation in support of the Philippine Army’s ground mission against the communist rebels in Bukidnon.

The mishap killed two PAF pilots.

Further, the flight data recorder of the ill-fated FA-50PH 002 was brought to the U.S. for data extraction procedures. Meanwhile, the remaining 11 FA-50s underwent thorough maintenance inspections.

On March 25, the PAF lifted the grounding of the FA-50 fleet.

“Right now, the fleet of FA-50 is in full operational status; they can fly day and night,” Castillo said.

She also noted that all FA-50s are set to participate in the upcoming bilateral and multilateral exercises.

“They are currently flying with the ongoing Cope Thunder exercise, and we also intend to have them flying in the Balikatan exercise,” she added.

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.