2026 Turkish Air Force F-16 crash
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
From 9th Main Jet Base to Turkey–Bulgaria border
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
- 1 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- Unknown
- 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
- Unknown
- 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
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
- Aircraft type
- General Dynamics F-16
- 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
- 93-0679
- Operator
- Turkish Air Force
- Onboard fatalities
- 1
- Route
- From 9th Main Jet BaseTo Turkey–Bulgaria border
Approximate · Estimated position: Karesi, Balıkesir, the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
The 2026 Turkish Air Force F-16 crash is a military aviation accident that occurred on 25 February 2026 when an F-16 fighter aircraft belonging to the Turkish Air Force crashed in the countryside of the Karesi district of Balıkesir Province.
Crash
While the fighter aircraft with tail number 93-0679, which had taken off from the 9th Main Jet Base Command, was proceeding along its route, its radar track disappeared from the systems at 00.56 local time and radio contact with the aircraft was completely lost. After communication was lost, it was determined that the aircraft had crashed near the Naipli neighbourhood of the Karesi district, located north of the Balıkesir provincial centre. As a result of the impact, the wreckage and parts of the aircraft were scattered over the area beside the Istanbul–İzmir Motorway and a wide area of surrounding land. According to the preliminary findings of the accident investigation report, communicated to the public by Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk, Press and Public Relations Adviser of the Ministry of National Defence, it was determined that Air Pilot Major İbrahim Bolat activated the emergency ejection system at the last moment in order to abandon the aircraft during the fall. Despite the ejection system being activated, the pilot lost his life at the scene.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
Comprehensive investigations were launched by the competent administrative, legal and military institutions to clarify in full detail the exact causes of the crash. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that a full-scale investigation had been launched to determine all the circumstances surrounding the crash and that the relevant institutions were carrying out the necessary procedures. As part of the judicial investigation, Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek stated that an official inquiry had been launched. In line with this process, the Balıkesir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office assigned a special team of prosecutors to supervise and conduct the legal examinations at the crash site. The technical examinations are being carried out by the Accident Investigation Team operating within the Ministry of National Defence. In statements made by the Ministry, it was said that the technical cause of the incident would be determined as a result of the detailed technical examinations to be carried out on the wreckage by the accident investigation board and the report it would prepare. While the investigations were ongoing, no details were shared regarding possible technical failures or external factors, and the Ministry of National Defence warned that credence should not be given to claims and comments other than the statements of the official authorities.
Translated into English with AI assistance from the Turkish Wikipedia article “2026 Türk Hava Kuvvetleri F-16 kazası” (revision 36888762, retrieved 2026-09-19) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out; the translation may contain errors, and long articles were cut to their first 700 words. Read the article
Sources
Turkish Wikipedia article: 2026 Türk Hava Kuvvetleri F-16 kazası
- Translation
- Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
- Revision
- 36888762 · 2026-03-09 · retrieved 2026-09-19
- Wikidata
- Q138460966
- 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
- tr Wikipedia article "2026 Türk Hava Kuvvetleri F-16 kazası" (page 4656127, revision 36888762), translated into English with AI assistance
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
- Map position
- place the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata 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: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia article lead
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Turkish Wikipedia article's infobox, translated into English with AI assistance, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.