Turkish Air Force F-16 Crashes Near Yalova; Pilot Ejects and Survives
Prosecutors in Yalova have taken charge of the case and ordered an on-site inspection, while the defence ministry says the cause will be established after a detailed investigation.
By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 12, 2026, 10:28 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 13, 2026, 6:53 a.m. ET
A crashed near , , on August 12, 2026, according to reporting by Aerotime, Proto Thema and the Daily Mail. The Turkish defence ministry said the pilot ejected and survived the crash. The situation is developing and details may change.
Aerotime reported that the aircraft was assigned to a squadron of the 1st Main Jet Base at Eskişehir, had taken off from Eskişehir on a training flight, and came down immediately next to the 18th Main Base Command, a installation in Province. Proto Thema reported the crash occurred near the facilities of the 18th Main Air Base Command in the Taşköprü area of the Çiftlikköy district. The Daily Mail reported the aircraft belonged to the Gazelle Squadron of the Eskisehir 1st Main Jet Base, which specialises in reconnaissance missions, and that Türkiye Today reported the jet crashed near the 18th Main Jet Base in Taskopru town of 's Ciftlikkoy district. Teams from the Turkish disaster agency AFAD, national medical rescue units and the fire service were dispatched, and wreckage was reached without a fire breaking out. Aerotime reported no fatalities on the ground. Governor Usta said the accident involved a single aircraft and that no mid-air collision occurred. The Daily Mail reported that videos on local media showed a large fireball and a plume of black smoke coming from a field.
Proto Thema reported that the pilot, a lieutenant colonel identified by the initials E.T., ejected and was taken to Training and Research Hospital, with his life not in danger. Proto Thema also reported new video filmed by a car driver showing the fighter jet, or part of it, passing over the vehicle and crashing a few meters away inside a forest.
The specific aircraft has not been identified. Registry records list 35 aircraft under the ; that is what the operator holds on the registry and is not an identification of the aircraft involved. Weather observations recorded at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (LTFJ), 23.2 miles away and 10 minutes from the reported time, showed wind from 40° at 18 knots, visibility 6.21 statute miles and a temperature of 90°F. The observation is a measurement only and is not stated to have any bearing on the crash.
The cause has not been determined. Accounts of the investigation differ: Aerotime reported that the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said the cause would be established after a detailed investigation and that an accident investigation team had begun technical work; Proto Thema reported that 's Defense Ministry said the cause would be determined following a detailed investigation and that two prosecutors from the Prosecutor's Office took charge of the case and ordered an on-site inspection and an expert report; and the Daily Mail reported that
Aerotime reported that this is the second lost by the in 2026, following a February 25, 2026 crash after a night departure from Balıkesir in which Major İbrahim Bolat was killed. Aerotime also reported that operates more than 230 F-16s, the largest fleet of the type outside the US Air Force. Neither point indicates anything about the cause of the August 12 crash.
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Reference data
From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.
Added Proto Thema reporting: Yalova prosecutors took charge and ordered an on-site inspection and expert report, the pilot identified as a lieutenant colonel with initials E.T. whose life is not in danger, new driver-filmed video, and the Taşköprü/Çiftlikköy location; added the nearby LTFJ weather observation.
Version 212 Aug 2026, 15:16
Added defence ministry statement that the pilot ejected and survived, Daily Mail details (Gazelle Squadron, Taskopru/Ciftlikkoy location, fireball video), the conflicting accounts of the investigation, and corrected the operator fleet figure to 35.
Version 112 Aug 2026, 14:37
First published.
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