Turkish army loses contact with plane near Syria The plane took off from Malatya airbase in the southeast at 0730 GMT and lost communication with the base at 0858 GMT in the southwest of the Hatay province bordering Syria, the general staff said in a statement posted online. "Search and rescue efforts have started immediately," it said adding that it was not immediately clear if the plane crashed or if there were casualties. Malatya governor Ulvi Saran told the Anatolia news agency that it was a F-4 plane with two pilots onboard, without elaborating further. We have no information right now about the fate of the plane. We are following the developments," he said.