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Comments:
Crashed into the Aegean Sea nine miles off the island of Chios during a routine flight. It was part of a flight of four F-4's and two F-16's. Just prior to the mishap two Mirage 2000's intercepted them. One of two person crew was rescued but the other is missing. According to an official report, the TUAF formation had illegaly violated Hellenic airspace and so was intercepted by 2 HAF Mirage 2000EG (331sqn, 114FW, Tanagra AB). The 2 TUAF F-16s evidently denied to comply and started agressive maneuvers against the HAF Mirage 2000EG. During the engagment that followed, one of the HAF Mirage 2000EG (piloted by Lt. Grivas) fired a Magic IR missile. As a result a TUAF F-16D (#91-0023) was shot down. Immediately the second TUAF F-16 paused the engagment and escaped to the east in order to return to international air space. It was later determined (and kept secret) that the downed pilot who didn't survive the crash was in fact an Israeli pilot (Capt. Nail Erdogan) dispached from IDFAF. The second pilot (Lt. Col. Osman Cıceklı) ejected safely. The downed pilot was rescued 30 min. after shot down by a HAF AB-205 SAR helo (from 358th search and rescue squadron). The pilot received immediate medical care and returned a few days later to Turkey with a HAF C-130 flight. At first the incident was kept secret for obvious purposes and both countries (Greece and Turkey) officialy adopted a mechanical failure as the main cause of the accident. In 2003 the Greek Minister of Defence, Mr. Giannos Papantoniou, stated in public that the incident of Oct. 8th, 1996, that led to the loss of the TUAF F-16D was a result of the immediate action that was taken by HAF fighters during an interception against TUAF fighters violating Greek airspace.
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TUAF 91-0023
