A privately-owned single-engine M20J aircraft that took off from the Sivrihisar district of Eskişehir crashed at the summit of the Kaçkar Mountains. The pilot, Mehmet Demirci, who was operating the flight, tragically lost his life at the scene, while passenger Hicran Kaya was rescued with injuries.
The plane, which was en route from Sivrihisar to Rize, disappeared from radar in the Erzurum-Rize-Bayburt triangle. Following an emergency call made by Hicran Kaya via mobile phone, numerous search and rescue teams, including AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority), JAK (Gendarmerie Search and Rescue), and UMKE (National Medical Rescue Team), were dispatched to the area. A military helicopter also supported the search efforts, which continued throughout the night under challenging weather conditions.
GOVERNOR BAYDAŞ: WRECKAGE REACHED AFTER 12 HOURS
Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş announced that the aircraft wreckage was located at 06:24 in the morning at the summit of the Kaçkar Mountains. He stated that Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (JAK) and İkizdere Search and Rescue (İDAK) teams reached the site after hours of hiking:
“The female passenger who called the emergency hotline 112 was rescued alive. Unfortunately, we regret to share that the pilot has lost his life,” he said.
It was reported that heavy fog and snowfall complicated helicopter evacuation efforts, while rescue teams continued working to transport the injured passenger and personnel to a safer location.
MINISTER YERLİKAYA’S MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCE AND GRATITUDE
Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya shared a statement on social media, expressing his condolences for pilot Mehmet Demirci and wishing a speedy recovery to passenger Hicran Kaya. He also thanked the institutions involved in the rescue operation, including AFAD, the Gendarmerie, UMKE, AKUT, KDRK, and İDAK, and shared images from the crash site.
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