A Syrian regime aircraft reportedly shot down by a Syrian opposition group has crashed in Turkey's southern Hatay province on Saturday.

Search teams found the debris and the pilot of the aircraft. The pilot, who reportedly looked exhausted, was found 40 km away from the crashed jet according to Doğan News Agency, and was rushed to the Hatay State Hospital for treatment.

He was found around 500 meters away from his parachute. Heavy weather conditions reportedly made the 9-hour-long search operation search operation difficult; search teams could not find any footprint of the pilot because the area was muddy.

According to a senior Turkish military official, there was only one pilot on board of the military aircraft.

Hatay Governor Erdal Ata noted that the situation was not a matter of border violation, and that the jet not engaged on the Turkish side.

Eyewitness Suphan Polat, 55, told the Anadolu Agency that he saw the jet "sink like an arrow into the ground".

Another witness, Adem Yuman, corroborated Polat's story, saying it was around 6.30-7 p.m. (1530-1600 GMT) when they heard the explosion.

"We went to the wreckage but we didn't get too close. There was one explosion when it crashed but no more," he said.

Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition has said that they shot down a plane belonging to the regime.



The regime plane was allegedly bombing Idlib province in northern Syria when it was shot down by the opposition forces, said group spokesman of Ahrar al-Sham Ahmed Karaali.

Gendarmerie units found the pilot alive

The pilot of the jet, who bailed out as his jet was crashing, has been found 40 kilometers away from the wreckage site.

The pilot, who appeared to be aged between 50 and 55, and decorated with the colonel grade of Assad's army, has been taken to hospital.

Rescue teams also noted that the wounded Syrian pilot has been found some 500 meters away from the parachute.

He was first taken to a gendarmerie base and then to a state hospital.

Police and gendarmerie units took tight security measures in the hospital where the injured has been taken to.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since 2011, instigated by the Assad regime which cracked down on pro-democracy protests that had began as part of the Arab Spring uprisings, with unexpected ferocity and disproportionate force.

More than 600,000 people were killed and some seven million people were displaced in the conflict.</s>ANKARA (Reuters) - A warplane probably belonging to the Syrian air force crashed on the Turkish side of the border with Syria on Saturday and the pilots appeared to have bailed out, a local Turkish governor was quoted as saying.

Syrian state television quoted an army source as saying the air force had lost contact with a fighter jet on a mission near the Turkish border and that a search was under way to find the pilot.

Turkish news agency Dogan cited Hatay provincial Governor Erdal Ata as saying the wreckage of the plane had been found on the fringes of the Amanos mountains. It was not clear why it had crashed.

“We have the impression that the pilots bailed out as the cockpit was empty when the wreckage was found,” Ata said.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had earlier suggested it had come down on the Syrian side. “It’s not clear why the plane crashed. It may be due to weather conditions,” he said.

Combat operations by many militia and government forces come close to Turkey’s long frontier.

Turkey has been one of the foremost critics of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and supports rebels fighting him in the country’s six-year-old war. It currently has armed forces involved in operations along the Syrian side of the frontier.</s>Moments ago, several Islamist factions claimed to have shot down a MiG-21 MiG-23 fighter jet in the northern countryside of Idlib.

Ahrar al-Sham said one of its anti-aircraft units shot down the warplane utilizing a homemade Manpad system known as ‘Olive one’.

Upon enquiring with a military source based in Damascus, it was confirmed to Al-Masdar News that the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) had indeed lost contact to a low-flying plane during sorties in Idlib province.

The source also stressed that the MiG-21 MiG-23 was not shot down but rather suffered from technical difficulties that caused the warplane to rapidly drop in altitude.

A leaked conversation obtained by Al-Masdar News between the pilot and aerial command center revealed that radar issues had caused the plane to be unable to turn back.

Remarkably, the Syrian pilot managed to not only eject from the fighter jet but also landed inside Turkey at Hatay province. He is believed to be in Turkish custody.

Islamist militants based in Idlib have previously executed numerous Syrian and Russian pilots once their jets were downed over the rebel-held areas.

Another photograph from this evening:



Advertisements</s>A Islamist rebel group has claimed responsibility for shooting down a Syrian government fighter jet that crashed on Turkish soil.

Ahrar al-Sham released a video claiming to show the plane being shot down with an anti-aircraft gun, but Bashar al-Assad's military said it crashed due to technical difficulties.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said a Syrian government MiG had crashed at the edge of the Amanos mountains near the town of Samandag in Hatay province.

Governor Erdal Ata told the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu that rescue teams had found the wreckage but the cockpit was empty – confirming earlier reports by villagers who say they had seen pilots ejecting.

Mr Ata said there had been no airspace violation and no intervention by Turkish forces.

The crash follows several years of tensions between Turkey and Syria that led to two Syrian helicopters and a MiG jet being shot down for violating Turkish airspace, as well as Russian aircraft flying missions in support of Assad.

A Russian military plane was similarly shot down by Turkey for violating airspace in 2015, leading to months of tension between Ankara and Moscow.

Ahrar al-Sham, an Islamist alliance that controls large swathes of Idlib province, claimed the jet it was downed using a 23 millimetre machine gun as it was bombing the countryside in the north-west of the province.

Turkish media said earlier that villagers had called authorities to report the crash at around 6.30pm local time.</s>A Syrian warplane crashed in the border region with Turkey as anti-government rebels claimed they had shot down the aircraft. Reports suggest that the plane was brought down in the Turkish province of Hatay, but no information has been provided about the pilot.

Governor of Hatay, the southern-most province in Turkey, said that a fighter jet had crashed late on Saturday (4 March). The jet's cockpit was found empty while a search operation had been initiated.

"We think the plane belongs to Syria. We believe the pilot has ejected safely," said Hatay Governor Erdal Ata. The plane was thought to be a MiG-23 operated by the President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Turkey had not scrambled fighter jets before the plane crashed as officials confirmed that there was no violation of Ankara's airspace.

"No, this has nothing to do with border violations. We don't know whether it's a technical malfunction or another incident that took place in the other side. Thus, an intervention done to the plane from our side is out of question. We don't know if it crashed technically or was shot," said Ata.

There have also been reports of bad weather conditions, but the Syrian rebel group Ahrar al-Sham was quoted as saying by the AFP that it had shot down the jet. The group said that the aircraft was brought down "as it was overflying Idlib province [in northwestern Syria] and carrying out air strikes".

However, there are contradictory reports that suggest the plane had crashed in Syrian territory. "There is no clarity on that issue. It can be in our border or Syrian border that will be clear after the examinations. There is also no clarity on the reason for why it crashed, but there are reports that the weather conditions were rather unfavourable," said Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

The Syrian civil war has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives so far with those opposing to Assad's rule refusing to give up their fight. While regime forces continue to pound rebel positions across the war-ravaged country, opposition groups continue to arm themselves to fight the Syrian army.</s>The Syrian army lost contact with a jet performing a reconnaissance mission near the Turkish border, local media said Saturday.Earlier in the day, fighters from Syria's Ahrar al Sham Islamist extremist group claimed to have shot down a Syrian government MiG-21 fighter jet over the Syrian province of Idlib. Syrian government sources later reportedly confirmed that contact had been lost with a low-flying plane over Idlib, but said this was due to technical difficulties.Contact with the jet was lost and the military is now searching for the pilot, who had ejected, the SANA news agency reported, citing a military source.Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has confirmed that a Syrian military plane had crashed in south Turkey's Hatay province.Media reports said, citing Turkish sources, that the jet was a MiG-23 fighter rather than a MiG-21.Debris of a crashed Syrian fighter jet were found near the Turkish border with Syria, according to the Hatay province governor.The pilot apparently had ejected, the governor added.According to the Daily Sabah newspaper, the found pilot has been injured. He was first taken to the gendarmerie and then hospitalized, the NTV television channel reported.Turkey will announce in the coming days whether it will hand over a captured Syrian pilot who landed on the Turkish side of the border after ejecting from a crashing military plane to Syria, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said Sunday."The pilot's treatment is continuing right now. A decision would be made after the whole event is clarified, but now it is very fresh," Canikli told reporters, according to the state Anadolu news agency, adding the decision would be made soon.The news comes amid the nationwide ceasefire in Syria between Damascus and Syrian rebels that came into force on December 30 , and has been holding up in general, despite continued reports of violations. The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December supporting the effort.</s>Turkish officials said that an aircraft believed to belong to the Syrian military crashed near the Turkey-Syria border Saturday, with the Syrian opposition claiming to Turkish media they were responsible for shooting the plane down. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters that "we have information that a MIG model plane belonging to the Syrian regime" had crashed near the town of Samandag in Hatay province.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Times of Israel.</s>Contact with the jet was lost and the military is now searching for the pilot, who had ejected, the SANA news agency reported, citing a military source.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has confirmed that a Syrian military plane had crashed in south Turkey's Hatay province.

Media reports said, citing Turkish sources, that the jet was a MiG-23 fighter rather than a MiG-21.

Debris of a crashed Syrian fighter jet were found near the Turkish border with Syria, according to the Hatay province governor.

The pilot apparently had ejected, the governor added.

The news comes amid the nationwide ceasefire in Syria between Damascus and Syrian rebels that came into force on December 30, and has been holding up in general, despite continued reports of violations. The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December supporting the effort.</s>ISTANBUL — Turkish officials said that an aircraft believed to belong to the Syrian military crashed near the Turkey-Syria border Saturday, with the Syrian opposition claiming to Turkish media they were responsible for shooting the plane down.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters that "we have information that a MIG model plane belonging to the Syrian regime" had crashed near the town of Samandag in Hatay province.

Hatay governor Erdal Ata told state-run Anadolu news agency that rescue teams had arrived at the wreckage and reported that the cockpit was empty, confirming earlier reports by local villagers who claimed to have observed the pilots ejecting.

Ata added that there had been no airspace violation and no intervention by Turkish forces.

Syrian helicopters were shot down for violating Turkish airspace in 2013 and 2015, and a Syrian MIG jet was shot down in 2014 for the same violation. A Russian military plane was similarly shot down by Turkey for violating airspace in 2015, leading to months of tension between Ankara and Moscow.

Syrian opposition military group Ahrar al-Sham claimed it shot down the plane Saturday. The group's spokesman, Ahmed Karali, told Anadolu that it was shot down by a 23 millimeter anti-aircraft gun as it was bombing the countryside in the northwestern Syrian town of Idlib.

Turkish media said earlier that local villagers had called authorities to report the crash at around 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT; 10:30 EST).</s>A plane has crashed on the border between Turkey and Syria, a Turkish official has reported.

Preliminary information suggested that the aircraft belonged to Syria, Turkey's Hatay province governor Erdal Ata said.

He told the state-run Anadolu news agency that it was "likely" a military aircraft, and speculated the crash was caused by a technical problem.

Rescue teams have been dispatched to the area.
A Syrian Air Force MiG-23 fighter jet crashes in Turkey's Hatay Province near the Syria–Turkey border after an engine failure.