A Turkish F-16 fighter jet crashed during a mission flight in the northwestern province of Balıkesir early on Feb. 25, killing its pilot, officials said. Türkiye’s Defense Ministry said the cause of the crash will be determined after a technical investigation.
The jet took off from the 9th Main Jet Base Command in Balıkesir and lost radio contact and track data at 12:56 a.m., the ministry said. Search-and-rescue teams later found the wreckage and confirmed that the pilot had been killed.
Governor İsmail Ustaoğlu said the aircraft went down shortly after takeoff during a mission flight. Turkish media reported that the crash site was in the Naipli area of Balıkesir’s Karesi district, and traffic on part of the İstanbul-İzmir highway was temporarily halted as emergency teams worked at the scene.
The Defense Ministry later identified the pilot as Air Pilot Major İbrahim Bolat. Defense Minister Yaşar Güler issued a condolence message following the incident.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the Balıkesir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had opened a judicial investigation into the crash and that senior prosecutors had been dispatched to the site.
