2021 Turkish Air Force Eurocopter AS532 Cougar crash

2021 Turkish Air Force Eurocopter AS532 Cougar crash
A Turkish Air Force AS532 Cougar, similar to the helicopter that crashed
Accident
Date4 March 2021 (2021-03-04)
SummaryCrashed into terrain; under investigation
Sitenear Tatvan, Bitlis, Turkey
Aircraft
Aircraft typeEurocopter AS532 Cougar
Operator Turkish Air Force
Flight originBingöl, Turkey
DestinationTatvan, Bitlis, Turkey
Occupants13
Fatalities11
Injuries2
Survivors2

The 2021 Turkish Air Force Eurocopter AS532 Cougar crash occurred on 4 March 2021, when a Turkish Air Force (TAF) Eurocopter AS532 Cougar, en route to Tatvan District in Bitlis, Turkey, crashed in Bitlis Province. Eleven Turkish servicemen on board were killed in the crash, while two other servicemen survived the crash. Initially, five injured servicemen were hospitalized, though three of them, including Lieutenant General Osman Erbaş, the commander of the 8th Corps, later died of their injuries.

It was the fourth incident in Turkey involving the helicopter model, which have caused the deaths of 39 people, including two high-ranking military officers.[1]

Crash

The Turkish Air Force (TAF) Eurocopter AS532 Cougar took off from Bingöl in eastern Turkey, at 10:55 am GMT. The helicopter was en route to Tatvan in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish-populated Bitlis Province,[1] where the Turkish forces have been combating militants of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.[2] It lost contact at around 11:25 am GMT.[3] The Turkish Ministry of National Defence (MoD) stated that the helicopter crashed in a rural area near Tatvan.[4] The crash happened in an area blanketed in snow and with visibility hampered by thick clouds in the mountainous region.[5] Locals rushed to the crash site to help the survivors as soon they heard the news of the crash. One of the survivors was partially buried under the wreck and snow.[6]

Initially, eight Turkish servicemen on board were killed in the crash, while five other servicemen were injured. The injured servicemen were immediately hospitalized, though three of them, including the lieutenant general Osman Erbaş, the commander of the 8th Corps, later died of their injuries.[7][8]

Aftermath

The crash was reported by the Turkish MoD. The ministry added that there were "efforts underway for the transfer of the injured personnel to the hospital".[8] It also stated that an investigation was launched right away.[9] The Turkish military immediately launched a search and rescue mission, dispatching a party consisting of an unmanned aerial vehicle, a CASA/IPTN CN-235 transport aircraft, and a helicopter.[6]

Reactions

Domestic

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, wished God's mercy upon the perished servicemen soldiers and extended his condolences to their families, the Turkish nation and the Turkish Armed Forces. Vice President of Turkey, Fuat Oktay, extended condolences to families of the fallen soldiers.[8] Turkish Ministry of National Defence conveyed its sympathies to their families, friends and country, calling the incident a "deeply saddening accident". Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkish Presidential Communications Director, Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish Minister of Health, Fahrettin Koca,[6] CHP chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu,[10] and MHP chairman Devlet Bahçeli,[11] expressed their condolences over the accident.

International

The United States embassy to Turkey in Ankara offered "its sincere condolences" for the Turkish soldiers killed and injured in the crash, wishing a "rapid recovery to the injured". Head of the European Union Delegation to Turkey, Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, offered his sympathies for those affected by the crash, while the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu to extend his condolences. The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, expressed his sorrow to President Erdoğan in a phone call,[6] while the Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov, expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the killed, as well as the Turkish nation, and expressed his sorrow over the incident.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Cougar helicopters under spotlight after 4th Turkish army crash". Daily Sabah. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  2. ^ Khalid, Tuqa (4 March 2021). "Nine killed in army helicopter crash in eastern Turkey". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Military helicopter crash in southeast Turkey kills nine: defence ministry". Reuters. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  4. ^ "9 killed in army helicopter crash in eastern Turkey". Associated Press. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021 – via U.S. News & World Report.
  5. ^ "Nine Turkish Soldiers Killed In Helicopter Crash". Agence France Presse. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021 – via Barron's.
  6. ^ a b c d "11 killed, 2 injured as military helicopter crashes in Turkey". Daily Sabah. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Nine Turkish soldiers killed in military helicopter crash: Defence ministry". Agence France-Presse. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021 – via Arab News.
  8. ^ a b c Zorlu, Faruk (4 March 2021). "Turkey: 11 soldiers martyred in military helicopter crash". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Turkish corps commander among victims of helicopter crash". Daily Sabah. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Turkey: CHP head offers condolences for martyred troops". Anadolu Agency. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Bahçeli: 8'inci Kolordu Komutanımız Korgeneral Osman Erbaş şehit oldu" [Bahçeli: Our 8th Corps Commander Lieutenant General Osman Erbaş was martyred]. NTV (in Turkish). 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Ceyhun Bayramov Türkiyədə baş vermiş helikopter qəzası ilə bağlı başsağlığı ünvanlayıb" [Jeyhun Bayramov expressed condolences over the helicopter crash in Turkey]. Azeri Press Agency (in Azerbaijani). 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.