What happened
During a daytime maritime patrol mission, a seaplane departed from Sangley Point Air Force Base. While in transit, the aircraft experienced an engine failure. Following this mechanical issue, the crew notified their home base to cancel the scheduled mission and initiated an emergency return to Sangley Point AFB.
While attempting to navigate back to the airfield under conditions of poor visibility, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Mariveles, situated approximately 53 km west of Manila. The impact resulted in 13 fatalities among the crew members on board.
Findings
Investigations into the crash identified that the primary contributing factors were the engine failure and the presence of low visibility caused by adverse weather conditions during the flight.