The United States service member who was killed alongside three defense contractors when their small plane crashed in the Philippines has been identified as a Marine from California.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Metrea.  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.

A US-contracted surveillance plane crashed in the Philippines on Thursday morning, killing all four personnel on board, including one US military service member, according to US Indo-Pacific Command.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command says that one U.S. service member and three defense contractors were killed when a plane contracted by the U.S. military crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines.

Plane debris is seen at the crash site in Maguindanao del Sur province in southern Philippines on Feb. 6, 2025. A

Officials say a U.S. military-contracted plane has crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines, killing all four people on board

The aircraft was conducting a routine mission “providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies,” officials said.

Military officials identified a U.S. Marine who died in a plane crash in the Philippines last week as Sgt. Jacob M. Durham, a California native.

A U.S. Marine from California has been identified by military officials as one of four people killed when a plane contracted by the U.S. military crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines.