Daijiworld Media Network - Istanbul
Istanbul, Aug 12: 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 said the aircraft went down during a routine training mission and the pilot safely ejected before the crash.
The exact cause of the accident will be determined following a detailed investigation, the ministry said, according to Xinhua news agency.
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, another Turkish F-16 fighter jet crashed in the western province of Balikesir, killing its pilot, the 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.
The latest incident comes days after Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, stipulating that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be considered an attack against 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 joint defence summit in the Saudi city of Mecca.
The pact states that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be regarded as an attack against all. However, few details have been made public regarding the specific commitments assumed by each country, and it remains unclear to what extent the agreement would require the three nations to undertake concrete military action in defence of one another.