Pancarköy air disaster
Turkish Air Force Northrop F-5 · Aircraft hit the hill due to pilot error and crashed into soldiers' military exercise site, Controlled Flight Into Terrain
From Babaeski, Kırklareli to Babaeski, Kırklareli
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 66 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- 65
- Occupants
- 1
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 72 · all on the ground
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Northrop F-5
- Aircraft type
- Northrop F-5
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 64-13340
- Operator
- Turkish Air Force
- Onboard fatalities
- 1
- Route
- From Babaeski, KırklareliTo Babaeski, Kırklareli
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
In Babaeski, Kırklareli, on 22 September 1981, a Turkish Air Force Northrop F-5 crashed during a military exercise, killing 35 and injuring more than 72 soldiers. 31 more soldiers died later from their injuries. The crash is the worst military air disaster in Turkey's history as of September 2025.
Event
On 22 September 1981 Turkish Armed Forces, were conducting a military exercise in Babaeski, Kırklareli, 2 kilometers away from the E-5 roadway.
While more than 100 soldiers were on ground, Pilot Lieutenant Mustafa Özcan was piloting a Northrop F-5. According to a surviving soldier, the jet hit a hill and crashed into the soldiers. 35 soldiers had died and more than 70 were injured. 31 more passed away days later. A river near the exercise saved some soldiers from burning. Most of the soldiers' bodies were burnt badly. Eight of them could not be identified.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Pancarköy air disaster” (revision 1340243254, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Pancarköy air disaster
- Article
- Pancarköy air disaster
- Revision
- 1340243254 · 2026-02-24 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q123399253
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Pancarköy air disaster" (page 73441954, revision 1340243254)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: total_fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: ground fatalities
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.