Pilot of crashed plane dies

Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş, who made a statement about the accident, said, "The plane was reached as of 6.24. The female passenger was rescued alive. The pilot lost his life."

WRECKAGE HAS BEEN FOUND

The wreckage of the plane was found by the JAK team on the Rize-Bayburt border. Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş announced that passenger Hicran Kaya was rescued with injuries, while the pilot Mehmet Demirci lost his life.

Baydaş said in his statement, "Yesterday evening at around 18:00, we are continuing our search for a civilian plane that took off from Eskişehir Sivrihisar and was on its way to Rize-Artvin Airport after receiving a report to the 112 hotline. As of 06:24, our Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (JAK) team and İkizdere Search and Rescue (İDAK) team have reached the plane. They reached the summit line, somewhere on the summit of the Kaçkar Mountains."

Noting that the female passenger's health condition was not bad but the pilot had lost his life according to initial reports, Governor Baydaş said, "We had also come to the point of losing contact with our teams on the field. There was very heavy rainfall. In fact, there was snowfall on the summit line tonight. Our friends reached the team as of 06.24 and reached the plane. The female passenger on the plane, who called the 112 line, is alive, our friends are taking care of her. We saw the lady while we were talking to our commander via video. She seems to be in good health. They took precautions for her. They checked the pilot's vital status. The information our friends have given at the moment is that the pilot has unfortunately lost his life. Now our friends will work to bring both the injured passenger and the entire team there to a reachable point. It is foggy weather, it does not seem like the helicopter will be able to land. Our friends will try to carry her to the point where she can be picked up by helicopter."

The M20J type single-engine aircraft, under the control of pilot Mehmet Demirci, which took off from the Sivrihisar district of Eskişehir, crashed late yesterday at the Erzurum-Trabzon-Bayburt border.

Following the emergency call from passenger Hicran Kaya, whom Pilot Demirci took on his plane from Sivrihisar to Rize, teams launched a search and rescue operation in the region. A military helicopter joined the search efforts, while AFAD teams from surrounding provinces also provided support.

'HELP US WE ARE DYING'

Passenger Hicran Kaya, who was reached by the DHA reporter on the phone after making the emergency call, said, “Our plane crashed into the mountain. I don’t know where we are. Help, we are dying,” adding that her life was in danger.

'THE PILOT STARTED A SOLO WORLD TOUR'

On the other hand, it was learned that Pilot Mehmet Demirci has been actively flying since 2008. It was stated that Demirci, who set off on a single-engine plane to make a solo world tour, was planning to leave his passenger Hicran Kaya in Rize and continue his journey. Pilot Demirci had made statements to reporters before setting off on his world tour.

STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR BAYDAŞ

Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş said that Hicran Kaya, who was found injured in the plane whose wreckage was found, was in good health, while the pilot lost his life. Governor Baydaş said, "We are continuing the search operation for a civilian plane that took off from Eskişehir Sivrihisar and was on its way to Rize-Artvin Airport after receiving a report to the 112 hotline at around 18:00 yesterday evening. As of 06:24, our Gendarmerie Search and Rescue (JAK) team and İkizdere Search and Rescue (İDAK) team have reached the plane. They reached somewhere on the summit line, that is, on the summit of the Kaçkar Mountains. There is very heavy rainfall. In fact, there was snowfall on the summit line tonight. Our friends reached the team as of 06:24 and reached the plane. They are in the area where the wreckage is. The female passenger on the plane who called the 112 hotline is alive, our friends are taking care of her. We saw the lady while we were having a video call with our commander. She seems to be in good health. They took precautions for her. They checked the pilot's vital status. The information our friends have given at the moment is that the pilot has unfortunately lost his life. Now, our friends are taking care of both the injured passenger and "They will work to bring the entire team there to an accessible point. It is foggy, the helicopter does not seem to have much chance of landing. Our friends will try to carry them to a point where they can be picked up by helicopter," he said.

Governor Baydaş, who congratulated the teams by wishing them a speedy recovery, said, "I wish them a speedy recovery again. All Erzurum, Bayburt and Rize teams have been on the field since the first moment the incident was heard. We are here too. God willing, we will provide further information about the developments. I also congratulate the JAK team and the İDAK team. Our friends tried to get there by walking for hours despite all the adverse weather conditions."

'THE PILOT STARTED A SOLO WORLD TOUR'

On the other hand, it was learned that Pilot Mehmet Demirci has been actively flying since 2008. It was stated that Demirci, who set off on a single-engine plane to make a solo world tour, was planning to leave his passenger Hicran Kaya in Rize and continue his journey. Pilot Demirci had made statements to reporters by giving images before setting off on his world tour.

DHA, AA