A message popped up on the cellular phone of Jovenel Dadulla on Saturday night, March 1. It was a chat from his younger brother, First Lieutenant April John "AJ" B. Dadulla, a Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilot, asking him about the weather in Bukidnon. “Is AJ coming home?” the elder Jovenel wondered. He wasn’t able to respond as he was busy at the time. Little did he know that that was the last time he would be able to talk to his brother.
The 29-year-old AJ, who was assigned to the PAF’s 5th Fighter Wing based at the Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga, died when the FA-50 fighter jet (tail number 002) he was flying along with another pilot, Major Jude Salang-oy, crashed during tactical night operations on the slopes of Mt. Kalatungan in Brgy. Mirayun, Talakag, Bukidnon shortly after Tuesday midnight, March 4.
“I did not know that he had a mission. The last time he contacted me, he sent me a message inquiring about the weather here in Bukidnon. ‘How’s the weather in Bukidnon, brother?’ he asked. I did not know that the reason he was asking about the weather is because he would be deployed that night,” Jovenel told reporters in a phone interview on Thursday, March 6.
AJ had been in the military service for six years. He left their home in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon to enter the PAF Officer Candidate School (PAFOCS) in 2019 as a trainee, and became a first lieutenant in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed his graduation to 2021.
AJ was supposed to get married on March 15 to another fellow Air Force pilot, 1Lt. Alyssa Coleen Columbino, of the 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing based at the Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Mactan, Cebu.
The lovers met when they were trainees at the PAFOCS, according to Jovenel.
“AJ was bubbly. He was the kind of person who would not focus on the negative things in life. He had very ambitious dreams. It was really sad that we lost him at such a very young age,” Jovenel fondly recalled.
“We are heart-broken that the unfortunate incident happened here in our home province of Bukidnon,” he added.
A foggy mission in Bukidnon
On Monday evening, March 3, AJ and his comrades aboard an undisclosed number of aircraft flew from the Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base to provide air support for the ground troops of the Philippine Army’s 403rdInfantry Brigade, under the 4th Infantry Division, as they were running after the leaders and around 60 members of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) Northcentral Mindanao Committee in the hinterlands of Cabanglasan, Bukidnon.
However, “several minutes” before the group reached the target area of operation, shortly after the clock struck midnight, the FA-50 “002” lost contact with the group.
The rest of the group continued with the mission, conducting airstrikes on the pinpointed location of the NPA rebels to soften the enemy’s position, while believing that FA-50 “002” only had communication problems. Upon arrival in Mactan, they could no longer establish contact with the two pilots.
A massive search and rescue (SAR) operation ensued immediately. Hopes were up when responders detected a signal from the personal locator beacons of the pilots. At 11 a.m. of March 4 – after 11 hours of scouring – authorities and volunteers finally found the fighter jet in “a heavily vegetated and foggy” portion of Mt. Kalatungan, only it was already a “total wreck”.
The crash site was approximately 11,260 meters from the nearest national road, according to Col. Antonio B Dulnuan Jr., acting brigade commander of 403rd Infantry Brigade.
“The wings of the aircraft were no longer intact and the jet was totally burned,” he said.
Remains extracted
Around 1 a.m. Thursday, March 6, the remains of the pilots were extracted by the responders. They had to walk for six to eight hours before reaching the crash site, and the same amount of hours to bring the remains to a pickup point in Pangantucan, Bukidnon.
“I want to thank everyone who helped in finding my brother, especially the Philippine Air Force and the Army. Even though it was very cold at night, you persevered to locate my brother. Thank you, too, to the civilian volunteers,” Jovenel said.
“To my family and relatives, let’s just continue to live because we know the risks that come with the profession of our beloved AJ. We want to remember AJ as someone who offered his life for his country. In that way, somehow, the pain that we are feeling would subside,” he added.
Forensic analysis
PAF spokesperson Colonel Ma. Consuelo Castillo said the extracted remains would be subjected to forensic analysis in Cagayan de Oro City for official identification.
“This is an aircraft accident involving a high-speed aircraft that went down on a mountain. We could just imagine the state of the bodies so we have to make sure that the remains that we got are the identified pilots,” she said. The forensic analysis would be completed within 24 hours.
By Friday or Saturday, the remains of the aircrew would be brought to Villamor Air Base in Pasay City where the deceased pilots would be given military honors and posthumous awards. Details of the interment are yet to be finalized.
Flight data recorder found
The PAF’s investigating team was already on their way to the crash site in Bukidnon to begin its probe. “They are going to look at the general area [of the crash site], the aircraft parts that are remaining there. That’s just part of the process,” Castillo said.
The investigating team would also try to determine the possible cause of the crash including human error, material factor, mechanical factor, and environmental factor (weather).
The flight data recorder of the crashed FA-50 fighter jet has also been found and would be sent to technical experts to help fast-track the investigation.
“What we’re going to find there are the flight data – the altitude, the air speed, all the other things. If there were problems encountered, we will see there,” Castillo said.
The PAF vowed to have a speedy but thorough investigation of the incident.
“We would like to send our appreciation to our countrymen for their continued support and confidence to the Air Force. From our end, we are going to assure you that we are going to conduct an impartial investigation," Castillo said.
She said the PAF will continue to strengthen the organization so that it can better serve the Filipino people.
“We hope that you would join us in praying for our deceased pilots and their families. We encourage the whole nation to join us in honoring the service and heroism of our pilots,” Castillo concluded.