Turkey Retires RF-4E Warplanes After Deadly Crashes

Turkey’s Air Force Chief Abidin Ünal announced that they have suspended the operations of RF-4E warplanes after the recent crashes that left 6 pilots dead. 

According to information provided by Ünal, Turkish Air Force will resume its operations with F4 E 2020 while retiring RF-4E warplanes. 

Turkish Air Force currently owns 4 RF-4E warplanes. 

6 pilots died

The two RF-4E planes crashed into a mountain in Malatya, central Turkey, during night training exercises on February 24. While the incident left 4 pilots dead, the crashed warplanes were RF-4Es. 

“The warplanes were at a low altitude. It is supposed that there was a communication breakdown,” Ünal commented. 

Nine days later, on March 5, an F-4 Phantom jet also crashed in Konya, killing its two pilots. The warplanes were F-4E 2020s. 

“There was no time for ejection,” Ünal added. 

While the jet in Konya was a modernized F-4E 2020 type, Vice PM Bülent Arınç previously announced that Turkish Military was to utilize these warplanes until 2020. (YY/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.