Photo: EPA
An investigation has been launched into the incident.
A Turkish F-16 fighter jet crashed onto a highway. Contact with the aircraft was lost at 00:56 local time shortly after it took off from the 9th Main Jet Base in Balıkesir, Turkey’s Ministry of Defense reported on its Facebook page.
It is noted that search-and-rescue teams later found the wreckage of the jet. The pilot was killed.
According to Yeni Akit, several rescue crews were urgently dispatched to the crash site, and a technical investigation has been initiated.
On May 16, Ukraine also lost an F-16 combat aircraft. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that around 03:30 contact was lost with a fighter carrying out a mission to repel a Russian air attack. The pilot destroyed three enemy targets and was engaging a fourth with the aircraft’s cannon. Due to an onboard emergency, he steered the jet away from populated areas and successfully ejected.
