Turkish F-16 Fighter Jet Crashes, Pilot Killed

Turkey. Media, citing the Ministry of Defense, reported that a fighter jet (F-16) crashed shortly after taking off on Wednesday, resulting in the death of the pilot.

The ministry stated that radio and tracking information for the aircraft, which took off from Balıkesir, was lost immediately after departure. The ministry indicated that the wreckage was found through search and rescue operations, confirming the pilot's death, and that the cause of the accident will be determined after an accident investigation team examines it.

Previously, in November, Turkey suspended flights of its C-130 cargo aircraft after one crashed in neighboring Georgia while returning from Azerbaijan, killing all 20 people on board.

F-16 aircraft, manufactured by the American company Lockheed Martin, have been involved in recent crashes. In January, a Taiwanese F-16 crashed into the sea during a routine mission.

It was also reported that a pilot died when an F-16 crashed during an air show rehearsal in Poland in August.