Turkish warplane crashes near airport in Diyarbakır

DİYARBAKIR

AFP photo

A Turkish fighter jet crashed near an airport in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır on Dec. 12, the military said, but the pilot was able to safely eject from the plane.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known but the government said an investigation had been launched.
 
The F-16 warplane was on its way to an air base in Diyarbakır during a training mission when it fell in a village nearby, the armed forces said on its website.
 
Before the crash, the pilot escaped using the ejector seat, the military added.
 
The armed forces said the pilot was in "good health" after the crash at 7.30pm.
 
The warplane crashed five kilometres (3.1 miles) from the air base next to the airport, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş told reporters in Ankara late on Dec. 12.

He said the cause would be known "shortly" after an investigation but did not want to speculate.
 
The base has been used previously for air raids on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets inside Syria and against outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq.