PAF spokesman Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla, Jr. said initial reports revealed that Capt. Aniano Amatong, Jr., 31, of Liberty Homes, Alabang, Muntinlupa crashed with his plane while trying to control the aircraft from hitting a row of houses.

Amatong’s body was recovered by the PAF’s 505th search and rescue team at the crash site in barangay Dinakot one hour after the accident.

Amatong’s co-pilot, Capt. James Acosta, 35, survived the mishap by bailing out from the plane and parachuting himself to safety.

Acosta fractured his leg and is now undergoing treatment at the Villamor Air Base hospital in Pasay City, where Amatong’s body was also taken. The survivor will help military aircraft accident probers find out the cause of the mishap.

As seasoned pilots, Amatong had amassed 1,000 flying hours, while Acosta has almost 1,500 flying hours, according to Padilla.

Lt. Gen. Jose Reyes, commanding general of the Air Force, immediately sent a helicopter from the Tactical Operations Group 3 to conduct search and rescue operations.

Aircraft accident investigators were also sent to the area to determine the cause of the crash.

The ill-fated OV-10, a total wreck, is a twin-engine aircraft used by the PAF for close air support missions, aerial reconnaissance and cloud seeding operations.

It has two pilots (in tandem seating format) and can carry a wide variety of bombs and other air ammunition.

Air force top officials immediately ordered the grounding of all OV-10 planes under its inventory pending the results of a thorough probe.

Initial reports said the plane the Danilo Atienza Airfireld in Sangley Point, Cavite en route to Clark Air Base in Pampanga at 8:30 a.m. to join other pilots and allied planes in the ongoing RP- US Balance Piston military exercise in which US Air Force military troopers are conducting Low Level Air Delivery exercise.

The plane crashed 30 minutes later.

Padilla said they have yet to determine the cause of the crash.

Of the original 24 OV-10 Broncos in its inventory, only nine serviceable planes were left due to a string of mishaps.

In 2000, F-5 Freedom Fighter Jet crashed in Mabalacat, Pampanga killing its pilot while participating in the RP-US Balikatan military exercise and a few years ago, an OV-10 Bronco Attack airplane also crashed in Mabalacat town killing its lady pilot.

The PAF last year decommissioned its US-made F-5 Freedom Fighter Jets used during the Korean War from the service. (with reports by Fred Roxas, Ed Mahilum and Freddie C. Velez)