A pilot has been killed after an Nato F-16 fighter jet crashed moments after take-off.
The incident took place early on Wednesday morning near a highway in western Turkey.
The Turkish Air Force plane took off from the 9th Main Jet Base in the province of Balikesir at 12:56am local time (9.56pm GMT), according to the national defence ministry.
“Our pilot was martyred. The cause of the accident will be determined following an investigation by the crash examination team,” the ministry said in a statement.
Emergency services, including firefighters, medical teams and security forces, rushed to the scene of the wreckage with debris scattered near the Istanbul-Izmir Highway, according to local media.
National defence minister Yasar Guler identified the pilot as Air Force Major Ibrahim Bolat.
“Our heroic comrade-in-arms was martyred on 25 February 2026, as a result of the crash of our F-16 aircraft,” he said in a message of condolence.
Justice minister Akin Gurlek said the Balikesir chief public prosecutor’s office had launched an official investigation into the crash.
He added that the chief public prosecutor, deputy chief public prosecutor and two public prosecutors were at the scene of the incident, according to local media.
“The cause of the crash will become clear following the technical examination by the relevant crash investigation team,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Vice president Cevdet Yilmaz insisted that the crash would be “meticulously examined both judicially and administratively”.
Turkey has been a member of Nato since 1952. In an update unrelated to the incident, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish Nato forces had been engaged in military exercises this week.
“In the Nato Steadfast Dart 2026 Exercise, our army, together with the Bayraktar TB3 and our TCG Anadolu ship, literally wrote an epic,” he wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
“In this important exercise, the Bayraktar TB3 performed live-fire missions under the challenging weather conditions of the Baltic Sea, executed a safe landing on TCG Anadolu, and delivered one of the most striking performances that Nato has ever seen.
“Remaining airborne for 8 hours in coordination with Eurofighter fighter jets, the Bayraktar TB3 covered a total distance of 1,700 kilometers and demonstrated its superior capabilities one by one.
“I sincerely congratulate every single one of my brothers and sisters who contributed to these achievements that have brought a fresh breath to the naval aviation concept.”
