A Northrop NF-5 aircraft, belonging to the Turkish Air Force demonstration team “Türk Yıldızları” (Turkish Stars) crashes in the central province of Konya killing a pilot.
According to the Turkish authorities, the NF-5A Freedom Fighter crashed at 14.15LT, during a training flight.
The reasons of the incident are being investigated.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , in his post on social media, stated that he learned with great gratitude that a demonstration plane in Konya was subjected to an accident during a training flight and that its pilot was martyred.
Based at 3rd Main Jet Base Command Konya, an airfield in the Central Anatolia region, famous for being the headquarters of the Anatolian Eagle exercise series, the Turkish Air Force demo team was formed on Nov. 7, 1992 and was named the Turkish Stars on Jan. 11, 1993.
The team has a full squadron status and is designated the 134 Akrotim Filo (134th Aerobatic Team Squadron). The team has always flown the NF-5 Freedom Fighter.
The first display, with four aircraft took place on Jun. 19, 1993; since 2004, the show is carried out with 8 aircraft.
