A Turkish firefighting aircraft crashed yesterday near the coastal town of Senj, in Croatia: on board there was a single crewmember, the pilot, who lost his life, according to what the Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumakli, reported it. 

According to the "Sabah" national daily, it was an Air Tractor AT-802 —a single‑engine turboprop also designed for firefighting operations— which in the afternoon disappeared from radar and was subsequently found on fire near Senj. The causes of the accident are currently under investigation. The Turkish ministry explained that on Wednesday morning two forestry aircraft had taken off bound for Zagreb for maintenance activities, but due to adverse weather they were forced to divert and overnight at Rijeka Airport. The two aircraft then departed again for Zagreb, but the bad weather forced them to reverse route toward Rijeka: while one carried out the landing, contact was lost with the other at 6:25pm (local hour), the official statement specified. 

The tragedy comes a few days after the news of the crash of the Turkish C-130 military transport airplane near the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan, which cost the lives of 20 service members; in that case too an investigation is underway to determine the causes of the accident. Croatian and Turkish authorities are now cooperating in the reconstruction of the event and in the technical and meteorological inquiries. Official condolences have been expressed to the families of the deceased personnel (see AVIONEWS).