The NF-5 fighter, from the Turkish Stars aerobatic team, has crashed in the city of Konya, in central Turkey, local Turkish media report.
As reported by local media on Wednesday, a Northrop F-5 fighter, of the Turkish Stars aerobatic team, crashed during a training flight near the city of Konya, located in central Turkey.
The statement issued by the Turkish Ministry of National Defense announces that the accident occurred at 2:15 p.m. (local time) and that the plane’s pilot, Captain Burak Genççelebi, has lost his life. The note emphasizes that, for the moment, the cause of the accident remains “unknown” and indicates that an investigation has been initiated in this regard.
For his part, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has published a message of condolence on his Twitter account in which he expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the deceased pilot.
Unfortunately, we have 1 martyr. The aerobatic team of the Air Forces, deployed at the Konya 3rd Main Jet Base Command, crashed in the vicinity of Karatay district during training at 14:15. One of our pilot was martyred. Thanks to the homeland, may God have mercy. pic.twitter.com/43APLQtetc
– Seyfullah Koyuncu (@syf_kync) April 7, 2021
It should be noted that initially, the media were wrong about the type of the crashed plane and reported that it was an F-16.
Images released by Turkish national television show fire engines, a helicopter, medical and security teams blocking the area where the accident occurred.
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