ISTANBUL
\nA Turkish fighter jet crashed shortly after takeoff early Wednesday, killing the pilot, state media reported, citing the defence ministry.
\nRadio and tracking information with the aircraft, which took off from Balikesir at 12:56am (2156 GMT Tuesday), was lost soon after departure, the ministry said, according to the official Anadolu Agency.
\nA search and rescue operation was launched, and the wreckage was located.
\n\u201cOur pilot was martyred. The cause of the accident will be determined following an investigation by the crash examination team,\u201d the ministry said, offering condolences to the pilot\u2019s family.
\nIn November, Turkiye suspended flights by its C-130 cargo planes after one crashed in neighbouring Georgia while returning from Azerbaijan, killing all 20 people aboard.
\nOther F-16s, manufactured by US firm Lockheed Martin, have crashed in recent months.
\nIn January, a Taiwanese F-16 crashed into the sea during a routine mission. Its pilot, who ejected offshore, was reported missing.
\nIn Poland, an F-16 crashed in August while rehearsing for an air show, killing its pilot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISTANBUL A Turkish fighter jet crashed shortly after takeoff early Wednesday, killing the pilot, state media reported, citing the defence ministry. Radio and tracking information with the aircraft, which took off from Balikesir at 12:56am (2156 GMT Tuesday), was lost soon after departure, the ministry said, according to the official Anadolu Agency. A search and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-533553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n