2 pilots killed in Turkish fighter jet crash

Two Turkish pilots have been killed after their fighter jet crashed near the central Anatolian city of Konya.

Turkey’s military said in a statement that the incident happened at 0900 local time on Thursday when the F-4E took off from Eskisehir airbase on a planned training flight and went down an hour later.

The statement did not give any reason for the crash, saying an investigation has been launched into the incident.

This is the second fatal air accident for the Turkish air force in less than two weeks.

On February 24, two training jets crashed in Malatya Province, leaving four crew members dead.

The planes crashed due to an accident, said the Turkish army, but refrained from giving further information over the cause of the incident or how the two jets apparently crashed simultaneously.