Skip to main content

A Turkish Air Force F-16 crashes near a major highway, killing its pilot

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish Air Force F‑16 fighter jet crashed near a highway in western Turkey early Wednesday, killing its pilot, officials and media reports said.

Radio and radar contact with the jet was lost shortly after midnight after it took off from the 9th Main Jet Base in Balikesir province, according to a defense ministry statement.

Search and rescue operations were immediately launched, the ministry said, adding that the wreckage was soon located and the pilot had been “martyred.”

The aircraft went down near a section of the Istanbul–Izmir highway, scattering debris across a wide area, Hurriyet newspaper reported. Security forces, firefighters, and medical teams were dispatched to the scene.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, the ministry said, adding that an investigation would be carried out by an accident inquiry team.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
Read Next Story

Related News

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

Police warn families of Tiananmen crackdown dead not to visit graves on 37th anniversary

Women are the first caregivers in this Ebola outbreak and the most at risk