19.07.2026 16:10
New developments have emerged in the Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu case. The police and prosecutor statements of the arrested F-4 Weapon System Officer Ali Armağan have been obtained. Armağan responded to questions about the line and 152 phone calls allegedly connected to Adil Öksüz by saying "I don't remember," "I don't know him," and "I don't know."
In the investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the helicopter crash that killed Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, the founding chairman of the Great Unity Party (BBP), and five others, the statements of retired soldier Ali Armağan and his wife Şerife Armağan have been added to the case file.
Armağan was questioned about the flights conducted by an F-4 aircraft that took off from Malatya Erhaç on the day of the incident, the TAKSAN claim over the skies of Kahramanmaraş, the operational line believed to be linked to FETÖ's fugitive alleged TSK imam Adil Öksüz, and past HTS records. Şerife Armağan was asked about a line registered in her father's name, payphone calls, fingerprints found on a book at Adil Öksüz's address in Sakarya, and notes seized during a home search.
“I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T REMEMBER, I DON'T RECOGNIZE”
The suspects' responses to many critical questions as “I don't remember,” “I don't recognize,” “I don't know,” while the case file includes flight records, HTS analyses, base station data, and materials seized during the home search, drew attention.
DENIED DESPITE FLIGHT RECORDS
Armağan was asked about the F-4 flights that took off from Malatya Erhaç on March 25, 2009, during the hours when the TC-HEK registered helicopter crashed in the Karayakup hills of Kahramanmaraş Göksun.
The investigation authorities brought up records showing that on the day of the incident, Ali Armağan and Ahmet Turhan were on a flight with call sign D721 and track number HH721 between 14:26-15:41, and Ali Armağan and Nihat Biçer were on a flight with call sign D720 and track number HH720 between 10:30-12:12.
Armağan, in his defense, denied the allegations against him, saying, “I absolutely did not fly over the skies of Kahramanmaraş with F-16 pilots. I was on an interception mission over Sivas during those hours.” Arguing that he was flying over Sivas at the time of the helicopter crash on the day of the incident, Armağan claimed that the information sent from the General Staff was incorrect.
However, despite the flight records presented by the investigation authorities, Armağan's responses of “I don't remember” and “I don't accept” to questions about two separate F-4 flights on the same day were among the notable contradictions in the case file.
WHY WAS IT NOT DETECTED ON RADAR?
One of the striking aspects of the investigation was the TAKSAN flight, believed to have been conducted alongside F-16 aircraft. Ali Armağan was asked whether he conducted a TAKSAN flight over Kahramanmaraş with F-16 pilots Sedat Kılıçaslan and Tezcan Kaymaz. Armağan stated he did not know these names, only knowing Ahmet Turhan due to serving in the same unit in Eskişehir.
Armağan defended himself by saying, “The flight I conducted was a support flight. I did not participate in the TAKSAN flight.” Regarding evaluations that the F-4 aircraft disappeared from radar at certain times, he stated that not being detected on radar could be possible due to technical reasons such as the mountainous terrain and low altitude.
The fact that Armağan, on one hand, claimed he did not fly over the skies of Kahramanmaraş, and on the other hand, provided technical explanations regarding the flight's disappearance from radar, was another topic separately evaluated in the investigation file.
Nihat Biçer, whose statement is in the file, also denied conducting a reconnaissance flight with Ali Armağan. Biçer stated that the 172nd Squadron is an F-4E training squadron and that reconnaissance missions in Malatya are carried out by the 173rd Squadron, adding, “We could not have conducted a reconnaissance flight with Ali Armağan.”
152 CONTACT RECORDS WITH ADİL ÖKSÜZ FOUND
Another critical question directed at Ali Armağan was about the operational line believed to be linked to FETÖ's fugitive alleged TSK imam Adil Öksüz. The investigation authorities asked Armağan about 152 contact records between an operational line ending with “05 50” and the line allegedly used by Adil Öksüz between February 21, 2012, and February 10, 2014.
Armağan, however, claimed this line was not related to him. Stating that the line used by his wife Şerife Armağan was registered under the name of his father-in-law Şükrü Ünal, Armağan said, “I have no connection with what is called a burner phone line.”
Ali Armağan, who claimed not to know Adil Öksüz and Kemal Batmaz, argued that the allegations against him stemmed from his phone and his wife's phone giving signals from the same base station.
Nevertheless, the suspect was questioned about the findings in the case file indicating that there were 152 contact records between the line considered operational and the line allegedly used by Adil Öksüz, and that the line in question provided base station data consistent with Ali Armağan's residence and duty locations. Armağan also did not accept these findings.
WIFE FACED QUESTIONS ON PAYPHONE AND FINGERPRINT
Within the scope of the investigation, Şerife Armağan's statement also addressed allegations of FETÖ links, phone records, and materials seized during the home search.
Şerife Armağan was asked whether she used a line registered under her father Şükrü Ünal's name. Armağan stated that her father lives in Germany, and after he returned to Germany, she carried the line he used when visiting Turkey and kept it in her phone to prevent it from being deactivated.
It was noteworthy that Şerife Armağan, in her statement, first said she did not remember some lines but later noted she “might have possibly used” the line registered in her father's name. The investigation authorities placed in the case file findings indicating that the lines in question were declared by Şerife Armağan in various institutional records.
DID SHE MEET WITH ADİL ÖKSÜZ?
Şerife Armağan was also asked whether she had any contact with Adil Öksüz and Kemal Batmaz. Armağan stated that she only knew the two names from the media and had no acquaintance or kinship with them.
During the interrogation, the allegation was also raised that fingerprints belonging to Şerife Armağan were found on a book by Fetullah Gülen seized during a search at the address believed to be used by Adil Öksüz in Sakarya. Armağan claimed she did not know Adil Öksüz and Mehmet Sarıbal and had no connection with these individuals.
Asking Şerife Armağan, who said she did not know Adil Öksüz, about the allegation that her fingerprints were detected on a book found at the address considered to be used by Öksüz was one of the most critical topics in the statement.
NOTES SEIZED IN HOME SEARCH QUESTIONED
Şerife Armağan was also asked about some notes, names, phone numbers, IBAN details, the phrase “Hasbihal Macerası İlim Kültür ve Yardımlaşma Derneği” (Hasbihal Adventure Science Culture and Solidarity Association), and various personal names seized during a search at their residence.
Armağan stated that these notes did not belong to her and that she did not know the names and numbers written on them. Regarding a document titled “Officers who passed the 2004 Air War Academy entrance exam,” she stated that the document probably belonged to her husband and might be related to the institution where he served at that time.
When asked about the numerous notes, names, phone numbers, and IBAN information seized at home, Şerife Armağan responded with answers such as "I don't know," "I don't recognize," and "It's not mine."
PAYPHONE CALLS NOT ACCEPTED
Armağan was also asked about payphone and kiosk calls from previous years. The suspect claimed that he did not accept these calls, stated that he had been tried before, and argued that there had been no such calls after that process.
However, the investigation authorities read out the consecutive call and base station records from different dates one by one and questioned Armağan. The suspect, noting that a long time had passed since the records, did not accept the calls.
INVESTIGATION
The investigation into the helicopter crash that resulted in the deaths of Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu and 5 others is being deepened multilaterally through FETÖ connections, military flights on the day of the incident, HTS records, payphone contacts, and technical flight data.
Ali Armağan and Şerife Armağan did not accept the accusations against them in their statements. Within the scope of the investigation, the nature of the military flights conducted especially on the day of the incident, phone records considered to be linked to FETÖ's clandestine communication methods, and the contradictions between the Armağan couple's statements are being scrutinized.
In the investigation file, it is assessed that Ali Armağan acted in accordance with instructions as an executive or member of the FETÖ/PDY armed terrorist organization, conducted a reconnaissance flight with the F-4 aircraft he was in before the crash of the TC-HEK registered helicopter in the rural area of Göksun district in Kahramanmaraş on March 25, 2009, performed low-altitude flight during the incident, creating a sonic boom near the helicopter, and thus caused the helicopter to crash.
In this context, Armağan faces charges of "intentional killing" and "establishing or managing an armed organization or being a member of an organization."