TUBA, BENGUET — Two personnel of the Philippine Air Force sustained injuries after their training aircraft crashed into a thick forested area on Mount Cabuyao in Barangay Poblacion, Tuba, Benguet on Wednesday morning, May 20.
Police Lt. Col. Roy Calulot, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office‑Cordillera, confirmed the incident and identified one of the crew members as 1st Lt. Ruth Angelique Pasos. The identity of the second PAF officer remains withheld pending notification of their family.
According to Calulot, the aircraft involved is an SF260 trainer plane with tail number 10‑39 and call sign “Cougar Delta 1.” It went down at exactly 10:20 a.m., and authorities received the official report from the barangay chairman around 11:40 a.m. A rapid response team was immediately deployed, composed of personnel from the Tuba Municipal Police Station, Baguio City Police Office Station 10, the Bureau of Fire Protection‑Tuba, and the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, who successfully located and recovered the two airmen from the rugged terrain.
The aircraft took off earlier from Basilio Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, Batangas for what was believed to be a routine training flight. Its last tracked position was about two nautical miles northwest of Loakan Airport before radar contact was lost. The plane bears the official colors of the Philippine Air Force — gray, white, and orange — along with the service’s insignia.
As of press time, the exact medical condition of the injured personnel and the cause of the crash have not yet been released. Authorities have launched a full follow‑up investigation to determine the circumstances leading to the incident, including possible mechanical issues, weather conditions, or pilot factors that may have contributed to the accident.
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