US drone crashes in southern Turkey

ADANA

AA photo

A United States drone crashed in the southern province of Adana on Aug. 17. 

The cause of the crash in the province’s Ceyhan district is so far unknown, and the authorities have launched an investigation.

The first statement on the crash came from Adana Governor Mahmut Demirtaş, who said the drone came down in Ceyhan’s Çokçapınar area.

There were no deaths or injuries, Demirtaş said, but a fire service was immediately dispatched to the region.        

Investigators reached the site where the drone crashed, according to a statement from Turkey’s İncirlik Air Base, which is being used as part of the ongoing international anti-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) coalition’s operations, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.        

It confirmed that the U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator crashed in a field near Adana province at 10.15 p.m. on Aug. 17, shortly after it departed from the base.  
    
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash, while the remains of the aircraft are now with U.S. military and Turkish officials.  
      
“At this time the safety of our host nation civilians and the recovery and security of our asset is paramount,” said Col. David Eaglin, commander of the 39th Air Base Wing.       

“Our airmen train continuously to respond to incidents such as this, and we are working closely with our host nation partners to ensure this is resolved without conflict,” Eaglin added.    
   
He added that their priority was the safety of the civilians, as well as the removal and safety of the crashed vehicle.

“Our staff is constantly trained to make the necessary interventions for these kinds of incidents and we are working very closely with the Turkish authorities to solve the incident without encountering any problems,” Eaglin said.

“Anyone who believes they may have a claim for damages against the United States resulting from this incident, please contact the 39th Air Base Wing legal office,” he added. 

Adana Mayor Hüseyin Sözlü also confirmed that there were no casualties.  

“Our region, our village is close to İncirlik. Even in our childhood we witnessed training flights. Now the region is heating up with clashes and we are witnessing both fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. Today one of them came down in one of our villages, falling into the soybean field of a family,” Sözlü said.