An FA-50 fighter jet of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) went missing while on a tactical night operations in an undisclosed area shortly after Tuesday midnight, March 4.

The FA-50 fighter jet was being flown by two PAF pilots when it lost communication with the rest of the flight involved in the mission minutes before reaching the target area in Mactan Air Base in Cebu, said PAF spokesperson Col. Ma Consuelo Castillo.

The aircraft was flying with an undisclosed number of PAF assets to provide air support to ground troops during an operation.

“The PAF is conducting extensive and thorough search operations, utilizing all available resources, to locate the missing jet fighter aircraft. Our primary concern is the safe return of our aircrew,” she said.

Castillo said other aircraft involved in the mission repeatedly attempted to re-establish contact with the missing fighter jet when they reached Mactan Air Base.

“We are hopeful of locating them and the aircraft soon, and ask you to join us in prayer during this critical time,” she added.

The PAF spokesperson confirmed that it was the “first major incident” involving the FA-50 fighter aircraft.

The missing FA-50 had a personal locator beacon with it, according to Castillo, but she did not confirm if it was emitting signal.

She, however, confirmed that the aircraft was “over the land.”

The PAF has yet to declare the grounding of the remaining 11 FA-50 aircraft following the incident, as it clarified that it was not confirmed yet that the aircraft has crashed.

“We are hopeful that we will still be able to recover. We are more concerned about the safety of the aircrew right now, and we are still very optimistic that they are safe,” Castillo said.