Istanbul: A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight in the northwestern province of Yalova on Wednesday, with the pilot surviving the incident, the country’s defence ministry said.
In a statement posted on social media, the ministry announced that the aircraft went down during a routine training mission and the pilot safely bailed out before the crash.
The exact cause of the accident will be determined following a detailed investigation, the ministry said, Xinhua news agency reported. A large number of ambulances and medical rescue teams were dispatched to the crash site following the incident, local media reported.
Live footage broadcast by Turkish news channel NTV showed a fireball and thick black smoke rising from the wreckage, visible from several locations across the province.
In February, a Turkish F-16 fighter jet had crashed in western Balikesir province, killing its pilot, the country’s Ministry of National Defence had confirmed.
“At 0056 local time (2156 GMT), radio contact and the location of our F-16, which took off from the 9th Main Jet Base Command in Balikesir, were lost. As a result of the immediately initiated search and rescue operations, it was determined that our aircraft had crashed, and its wreckage was found,” the ministry said on X on February 25.
On August 7, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, stipulating that any armed attack against one of the three countries will be considered an attack against them all.
The agreement was signed by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif during a summit for joint defence held in the Saudi city of Mecca.
It stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be regarded as an attack on all. However, few details have been made public so far regarding the specific commitments assumed by each country, and it remains unclear to what extent the pact would require them to take concrete military action in defence of one another.
(IANS)
