Two pilots survive military plane crash in Turkey

Thursday, 23 July 2009 11:41

Two pilots were slightly injured when a military training plane crashed in the eastern province of Malatya on Thursday, news agencies reported.

The pilots parachuted to safety moments before the F-4 Phantom jet crashed into an empty field after takeoff from the Erhaç Air Base in Malatya. Gov. Mehmet Ulvi Saran said the pilots were hospitalized after the incident, which took place near Mısırdere village in the Yazıhan district.

According to Yazıhan Mayor Ali Kaya, the plane crashed after it lost its fuel tank. Witnesses told the Doğan news agency that the plane was in flames while it was losing altitude.

The cause of the crash will be determined after an investigation.

Aegean dogfights

In related news, fears that the repeated dogfights over the Aegean Sea between Turkish and Greek fighters would soon lead to a tragic accident grew Wednesday after a plane ran into trouble over the eastern Aegean.

According to the Greek Air Force, six Turkish F-16 jets entered Greek air space at 4.11 p.m., Greek daily Kathirmerini reported. Two of these planes broke off from the formation and flew at a height of 3,000 feet over Farmakonisi, then at 1,000 feet over Agathonisi and at 3,300 feet over Fournoi, the paper said.

Two Greek fighters approached the Turkish planes in a bid to force them away from the islands. At that point, the paper reported, one of the Turkish F-16s issued an emergency warning due to problems with its flight-control system.

Turkish air force officers immediately contacted their Greek counterparts in a bid to secure a clear, quick route for the F-16 to return to its base in EskiÅŸehir, in northwestern Turkey. The plane reportedly left Greek air space after flying at 15,000 feet over Icaria.