Daughter of Ankara terror attack victim beats cancer, takes pilot seat on THY visit

ISTANBUL

After recovering from cancer, the 10-year-old daughter of a Turkish aerospace engineer killed in a terrorist attack on Türkiye’s state-run aerospace company TUSAŞ, has visited Turkish Airlines (THY) and sat in the pilot’s seat, moving closer to fulfilling her dream of becoming a pilot.

Ece Naz Ekici, whose mother Zahide Güçlü Ekici was among the five people killed in the Oct. 23, 2024 attack on the facility in Ankara, visited the flag-carrier THY headquarters at the invitation of the company’s chairman, Ahmet Bolat.

After touring the airline’s hangars, she was allowed to sit in the cockpit of a passenger aircraft.

According to Bolat, Ece Naz had shared her ambition to become a test pilot, inspired by her late mother’s work at TUSAŞ.

“Ece Naz, who is only 10-years-old and successfully overcame cancer through sheer bravery, shares her mother’s passion for aviation,” he wrote on social media.

“When we hosted her, we took her through our hangars, allowing her to inspect the aircraft up close. The sparkle in her eyes that day is unforgettable,” noted, adding that her dream of flying Türkiye’s Hürkuş training aircraft carried special meaning for him, given his past role on the TUSAŞ board.

Bolat said THY earlier signed an agreement with TUSAŞ for the delivery of 20 Hürkuş aircraft, noting that he “sincerely believes that Ece Naz, who sets big goals despite her young age, will one day become the pride of Turkish aviation in the sky.”

A THY second officer, Başak Bensu Bayramoğlu, also joined the visit to answer the young girl’s questions about flying.

The 2024 assault on TUSAŞ killed five people and injured 22. The company is a key producer of civilian and military aircraft, unmanned systems and other defense technologies.

Authorities said two PKK members arrived at the facility in a taxi they hijacked after killing its driver, detonated explosives and opened fire.

PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.