UPDATED: U.S. Marine, 3 DoD Contractors Killed in Philippines Surveillance Plane Crash
A surveillance plane contracted by the Pentagon crashed in the Philippines on Thursday killing four, including a U.S. Marine, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News.
An aircraft contracted by the Department of Defense crashed Thursday in the Maguindanao del Sur, a Philippine province, killing the four people on board, according to a statement from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
“The aircraft was providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies. The incident occurred during a routine mission in support of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation activities,” reads the statement from INDO-Pacific.
“We can confirm no survivors of the crash. There were four personnel on board, including one U.S. military service member and three defense contractors.”
The four crew members – the Marine and three defense contractors – were conducting a surveillance mission from a contracted Beechcraft twin-engine Super King Air 350 when the aircraft crashed, a defense official told USNI News.
Which day of spring festival is today again?The plane, tail number NC349CA, crashed in a rice field, according to The Associated Press. A defense official confirmed to USNI News the aircraft was owned by the American defense contractor Metrea, which provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services from a fleet of specialized aircraft. Open source flight trackers showed the aircraft operating into the South China Sea from Mactan-Cebu International Airport, one the original of nine sites throughout the Philippines slated for American military access through the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. Washington and Manila expanded the agreement in 2023 to cover additional sites in Northern Luzon and Palawan.

