On the eighth of October 1996, seven months after the escalation of the
Imia/Kardak crisis, a Greek Mirage 2000 reportedly fired an R.550 Magic II missile and shot down a Turkish F-16D over the Aegean Sea near Chios island. The Turkish pilot died, while the co-pilot ejected and was rescued by Greek forces.
[Sander Peeters. "Greek & Turkish Air-to-Air Victories". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2014.] In August 2012, after the downing of a RF-4E on the Syrian Coast, Turkish Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz confirmed that the Turkish F-16D was shot down by a Greek Mirage 2000 with an R.550 Magic II in 1996 after violating Greek airspace near Chios island. Greece denies that the F-16 was shot down. Both Mirage 2000 pilots reported that the F-16 caught fire and they saw one parachute.
Background
Greek-Turkish relations have always been tense over the
disputes in the Aegean Sea. For years, more frequently than not, HAF and TAF pilots have engaged in mock dogfights over the Aegean sea. Greece accuses Turkey of violating its airspace thousands of times over the past few decades. In multiple cases these mock dog fights have ended in deadly accidents with either side losing a fighter jet and at times their own pilots.
Event
On the afternoon of October 8, 1996, 2 Turkish F-16s and 4 F-4s were on a
SEAD training mission over the Aegean when they violated Greek airspace north of Chios.
2 Greek
Dassault Mirage 2000 jets, one flown by captain Thanos Grivas were sent to intercept the Turkish jets. After being reported to refuse to leave Greek airspace just north of
Samos
Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...
during the ensuing dog fight, a Turkish F-16 piloted by Captain Nail Erdoğan and his co pilot Lieutenant Colonel Osman Çiçekli was shot down by a
R.550 Magic
The R.550 Magic (backronym for ''Missile Auto-Guidé Interception et Combat'') is a short-range air-to-air missile designed in 1968 by French company Matra to compete with the American AIM-9 Sidewinder, and it was made backwards compatible with t ...
missile from Thanos Grivas's jet.
The co-pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Osman Çiçekli survived by using his ejection seat but Captain Nail Erdoğan did not eject and was reported to have died in the crash. Turkish Navy, with help from Greece was conducting a detailed search activity where the plane was assumed to have crashed. Aydın class mine hunters M-266 TCG Amasra and M-268 TCG Akçakoca, and the salvage ship A-589 TCG Işın were searching for the wreck of the plane since 14 April 2014, while fast attack craft P-341 TCG Martı provided escort. The search eventually ended with the body of Nail Erdogan unable to have been found. It was first only rumors that the F-16 was shot down until in 2003 A former Turkish naval commander confirmed that a Greek warplane had shot down a Turkish F-16 fighter in the Aegean in 1996.
In 2012, after the downing of a Turkish RF-4E on the Syrian Coast, Turkish Defence Minister
İsmet Yılmaz
İsmet Yılmaz (born December 10, 1961) is a Turkish politician. Previously he was Minister of National Defense and Minister of National Education. Also briefly served as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly. Prior to entering politics, h ...
confirmed that the Turkish F-16D was shot down by a Greek Mirage 2000 with an R.550 Magic II in 1996 after violating Greek airspace near Chios island.
Aftermath
In 2014 Turkish prosecutors tried to seek the indictment of Greek officials over the 1996 crash of a Turkish F-16 warplane in the Aegean Sea. Greece had denied it being shotdown and both Mirage pilots reported that the Turkish F-16 caught fire at random and only saw one parachute.
References
{{F-16 Fighting Falcon variants
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon