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| Southeast Asia | |
| US Marine, 3 contractors killed in aircraft crash in southern Philippines | |
| 2025-02-07 | |
A US Marine and three defence contractors were killed when their aircraft crashed in Maguindanao, southern Philippines, on Thursday, according to the US Indo-Pacific Command and a defense official. The aircraft, a Beech King Air 300 contracted by the US military, was conducting an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission in support of the Philippine government when it went down around 2 pm local time in a rice field in Ampatuan town, the website military.com reported. NO SURVIVORS In a statement, the Indo-Pacific Command confirmed:
The aircraft, however, killed a water buffalo when it hit the ground. CNN, citing publicly available data, reported that the aircraft is registered to Metrea Special Aerospace ISR, Inc.. Metrea’s website shows a Beechcraft King Air 350 – the type of aircraft that crashed – and advertises “integrated, turnkey Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (AISR) solutions to our defense partners.” The Beechcraft crash occurred just a day after newly-appointed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held his first call with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. According to an official readout, the two leaders discussed strengthening deterrence in the South China Sea and enhancing the Philippine military’s capabilities. US MILITARY PRESENCE The US military frequently operates in the Indo-Pacific as part of efforts to counter Chinese influence and train partner forces. In the southern Philippines, US forces have long assisted in training Filipino troops battling communist rebels and militants. The Indo-Pacific Command, one of six US combatant commands, oversees US military operations in the Asia-Pacific, working to protect US territories, allies, and strategic interests. | |
| Posted by:Clerenter Flolump9830 |
| #4 Ha! Yes. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2025-02-07 20:47 |
| #3 Think about it from the water buffalo's point of view. You are standing there in the paddy minding your own buffalo business. You are munching leaves, maybe eyeing the lady water buffalos and suddenly, literally out of the blue, *WHAM*. It's enough to make you rethink your entire philosophical world view. Calls to mind the Smite Button cartoon we discussed the other day. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2025-02-07 16:38 |
| #2 I know the article doesn't say how it came down, but could you imagine losing power knowing you can't make it anywhere safe to land, doing everything right to glide down as soft as possible in a soft flat rice field, only to have a fucking water buffalo hidden in the field. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2025-02-07 15:55 |
| #1 "The aircraft, however, killed a water buffalo when it hit the ground." Not a soft landing. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2025-02-07 09:29 |