US military statement: The crashed plane in the Philippines was leased by the US Department of Defense to provide intelligence reconnaissance services.

On February 7, according to a statement released on the official website of the US Indo-Pacific Command, the small aircraft that crashed in South Manjano Province, southern Philippines on February 6 was leased by the US Department of Defense. The aircraft was requested by the Philippine side to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was conducting routine tasks to support US-Philippine security cooperation activities. The US Indo-Pacific Command stated that there were a total of four people on board, including one American military personnel and three defense contractors, none of whom survived the accident. The names of the deceased need to be kept confidential, and the cause of the crash is currently under investigation with no more details available for disclosure.