14.11.2025 06:41
One of the two AT802 type firefighting planes, which were en route from Çanakkale to Croatia for maintenance, lost contact. It was reported that the plane, which had taken off to go to Zagreb, returned to Rijeka Airport due to adverse weather conditions when the incident occurred. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, İbrahim Yumaklı, announced that the wreckage of the plane had been reached and that the pilot was martyred.
Contact was lost with one firefighting plane belonging to the General Directorate of Forestry in Croatia. It was announced that the pilot was also martyred while reaching the wreckage of the plane.
FIREFIGHTING PLANE MISSING IN CROATIA While the pain of our 20 soldiers martyred in the military cargo plane crash in Georgia has not subsided, another bad news has arrived. One of the two AT802 firefighting planes belonging to the General Directorate of Forestry, which was sent to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, for maintenance, lost radio contact. It was learned that the planes took off from Rijeka Airport to go to Zagreb but the incident occurred while returning to Rijeka due to weather conditions.
WRECKAGE REACHED, PILOT MARTYRED Sad news came from the search and rescue efforts. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı announced that the wreckage of the plane had been reached and that the pilot was martyred. In his statement, Minister Yumaklı said: "The wreckage of our firefighting plane belonging to the General Directorate of Forestry, which lost radio contact in Croatia, has been reached near the city of Senj in Croatia. I pray for God's mercy on our pilot who was martyred in this tragic accident, and I wish condolences and patience to his family and loved ones. May our forestry organization and our esteemed nation be consoled."
MARTYRED PILOT SURVIVED A CRASH IN AUGUST The name of the martyred pilot was learned to be Hasan Bahar. It was revealed that Bahar survived the plane crash that occurred in August in the Yatağan district of Muğla with injuries.
Pilot Hasan Bahar FEATURES OF THE AT-802 TYPE AIRCRAFT The Air Tractor AT-802 is a single-engine turboprop aircraft that, although originally designed for agricultural purposes, plays a critical role in combating forest and land fires today. The aircraft is equipped with a powerful Pratt & Whitney PT6A series engine with 1350 to 1600 horsepower, allowing it to carry approximately 3,100 liters (820 gallons) of water or fire retardant chemicals. The most distinctive feature of the AT-802 is its amphibious capability, typically seen in the Fire Boss variant. This version can take off and land on water surfaces such as lakes or seas, as well as on land, thanks to its floatation landing gear.
This capability eliminates the aircraft's dependence on ground refill points, allowing it to fill its tank from a water source in an extremely short time of 20-30 seconds. This speed and flexibility make the AT-802 extremely efficient and a globally preferred light-class firefighting aircraft, especially for rapid initial response to fires and preventing the spread of flames.
The aircraft's cost-effectiveness and high maneuverability even in narrow valleys provide an ideal solution for precision missions at lower altitudes compared to large firefighting tankers.
Here are photos from the wreckage: