26.02.2026 12:21
It was confirmed by the Ministry of National Defense that F-16 pilot Major İbrahim Bolat, who was martyred in the plane crash in Balıkesir, tried to control the aircraft until the last moment. It was stated that the martyred pilot Bolat struggled to prevent the plane from crashing onto the busy highway, thus averting a major disaster. The Ministry of National Defense stated, "Our heroic pilot was found to have activated the ejection system at the last moment to abandon the aircraft."
The F-16 fighter jet belonging to the 191st 'Cobra' Squadron Command at the 9th Main Jet Base in Balıkesir took off for an emergency flight to control the Bulgarian airspace border at 00:49 the previous night. The aircraft crashed 3 minutes after takeoff in the area of Naifli village, next to the Istanbul Izmir highway. Air Pilot Major İbrahim Bolat was martyred in the accident area, where heavy rainfall was effective.
The Ministry of National Defense (MSB) made a statement regarding the crash of the F-16 aircraft belonging to the 9th Main Jet Base Command in Balıkesir. The statement from the ministry included the following remarks:
ACTIVATED THE EJECTION SYSTEM AT THE LAST MOMENT
"The control and security of our airspace are provided with great sacrifice on a 7/24 basis through a layered and integrated architecture that includes radar, early warning, electronic warfare, and deterrence elements. Alarm reaction missions are carried out with our aircraft to identify and track air traces detected or undetected by our radars. Following the detection of an unidentified radar trace on our border with Bulgaria on February 25, two of our F-16 fighter jets took off simultaneously from the 9th Main Jet Base Command-Balıkesir as part of the alarm reaction mission. Communication and radar trace information with one of our fighter jets was lost from 00:56 onwards.
DID NOT ABANDON THE AIRCRAFT
As a result of the search and rescue operations initiated immediately, the wreckage of our aircraft that crashed has been reached. It has been determined that our heroic pilot activated the ejection system at the last moment to abandon the aircraft. In the incident, our heroic pilot was martyred. The cause of the incident will be clarified after a detailed examination by the crash investigation team. It is important that no claims or comments are taken into account other than our official statements on this matter. In this incident that has plunged us into deep sorrow and grief, we once again pray for the soul of our dear martyr who lost his life; we extend our condolences and patience to his grieving family, the Turkish Armed Forces, and our noble nation."