The Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Thursday announced all 11 FA-50PH fighter jets are now in “operational status” and “mission capable” after the lifting of the grounding order against the aircraft.
“The PAF’s FA-50 fleet has been placed on operational status effective March 25,” PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said in a Philippine News Agency interview, explaining these planes resumed their assigned missions soon after the grounding order was lifted.
“The aircraft are now all airworthy and mission capable,” she added.
Inspection of all remaining aircraft confirmed no technical issues with the FA-50PH fleet, leading to the lifting of the grounding order.
The remaining 11 FA-50PHs had been grounded after that with tail number 002 went missing on March 4 only to be found crashed in a Bukidnon mountain range the following day — marking the first incident involving this aircraft type since it was commissioned into PAF service.
According to Castillo, the PAF is currently finalizing the accident report for the ill-fated aircraft.
The Philippines purchased 12 FA-50PH units from South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries for P18.9 billion, with deliveries taking place between 2015 and 2017.