MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - A Philippine Air Force bomber plane crashed at sea near Puerto Princesa City last night with two pilots on board the plane missing, the military said today.
"The plane crashed when it tried to make a final touch down at the runway. There were no signs of the two pilots as of today afternoon," Air Force Spokesman Miguel Ernesto Okol said.
Two OV-10 planes took off in tandem from the Puerto Princesa City airport at around 6:37 p.m. Sunday for a night training mission. However, one plane lost contact with the Palawan control tower at 7:30 p.m. and failed to return, he said.
Okol said the aircraft was about five nautical miles from the runway when the contact was lost, based on a tracking device installed on the plane.
The search teams discovered parts of the aircraft, including the cargo bay door, auxiliary tank and trail cone, Okol said.
Cherryl Tindog, spokeswoman of the AFP's Western Command, said "The last contact with the pilot was the distress call. They (pilots) were telling us that they were having troubles with the aircraft."
She said they are hoping the pilots ejected themselves from the plane, adding this can be confirmed only if the mainframe of the aircraft will be found.
Tindog said Navy and Coast Guard ships along with helicopters are continuing with the search and rescue operation as of today.