FALLEN AIRMEN. Main Jude Salang-oy (left) and 1Lt. April John Dadulla, pilots of the ill-fated Philippine Air Pressure FA-50PH fighter jet, went lacking on March 4, 2025. Their wreckage and our bodies have been found on the Mount Kalatungan vary in Bukidnon province, as confirmed by the navy on Wednesday (March 5, 2025). (Contributed images)
MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday mourned the dying of the 2 Philippine Air Pressure (PAF) fighter jet pilots who died in a crash in Bukidnon, saying they “gave their lives within the line of responsibility.”
The pilots’ our bodies have been extracted from the crash website of the ill-fated FA-50 fighter jet on Wednesday night time.
READ: PAF fighter jet pilots’ stays extracted from Bukidnon crash website
In Malacañang, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. known as for a speedy investigation of the crash that killed Maj. Jude Salang-oy and 1st Lt. AJ Dadulla.
“Their unwavering dedication, bravery, and supreme sacrifice are a testomony to the extraordinary braveness of each Filipino soldier who solutions the decision to serve our nation,” the AFP mentioned in an announcement.
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“As we grieve this profound loss, we additionally draw power from their heroism—a reminder that our freedom and peace are constructed upon the sacrifices of those that stand guard,” it added.
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READ: Palace says Marcos desires swift probe into fighter jet crash
Their bravery, AFP additionally mentioned, “will perpetually function a beacon, inspiring each soldier, sailor, airman, and marine within the AFP.”
At a press briefing, Presidential Communications Workplace Undersecretary Claire Castro mentioned the President wished to know “what went incorrect and what the cures are for such conditions.”
On Tuesday, the FA-50 fighter jet was reported lacking after different PAF pilots misplaced contact with the plane throughout a tactical night time operation.
After the crash was confirmed, the PAF grounded its remaining 11 FA-50s consistent with the investigation.
Our bodies, black field retrieved
Additionally on Thursday, forensic specialists started inspecting the pilots’ stays that have been retrieved close to the crash website on the slopes of Mt. Kalatungan in Bukidnon late Wednesday night time.
The search and rescue crew additionally discovered the flight information recorder, generally generally known as the black field.
Col. Antonio Dulnuan Jr., appearing commander of the Military’s 403rd Infantry Brigade, mentioned the “charred our bodies” have been about 20 meters aside when discovered.
Airlifting the our bodies was dominated out as a result of climate and forbidding terrain. They needed to be carried by the responders on foot from the crash website and thru dense jungle for about six hours.
The our bodies have been delivered to a funeral parlor in Cagayan de Oro Metropolis on Thursday morning.
Dulnuan mentioned the plane’s fuselage was “nonetheless recognizable (though) it had misplaced its wings.”
Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo, the PAF spokesperson, mentioned investigators would “take a look at the final space (and) the plane elements which are remaining (within the crash website).”
They’d additionally achieved an preliminary investigation on “the processes, ways, strategies, and procedures that [were] being carried out for the mission,” she added. “That’s one thing that we have now to reassess additionally.”
Castillo mentioned the probe can be complete and “take a look at all angles (comparable to) materials issue, mechanical issue, human issue.”
She added that investigators would additionally take a look at environmental elements, comparable to wind circumstances and precipitation on the time of the accident.
Whereas the 2 PAF pilots have been “very proficient and expert,” their medical and psychological state data may even to be checked.
Honoring Salang-oy
Salang-oy’s household in Kalinga province had begun making ready for his wake and burial.
The pilot’s area people helped form him into “an officer and a gentleman” and would now honor his life and repair to the nation, in accordance with Kalinga Rep. Allen Mangaoang.
Salang-oy’s mother and father traveled from Kalinga on Wednesday night time to Pampanga for his stays, the lawmaker informed the Inquirer on Thursday.
Mangaoang described the Salang-oys as a well-respected household in Barangay Taloctoc, Tanudan city, the place they’re recognized to worth training as a manner out of poverty.
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The neighborhood might carry out a ritual in honor of the pilot, a practice reserved for individuals who died tragically as heroes, he mentioned. —WITH REPORTS FROM JOSELLE BADILLA, RYAN ROSAURO AND VINCENT CABREZA
