A Northrop NF-5 belonging to the Türk Yıldızları (Turkish Stars), the aerobatic demonstration team of the Turkish Air Force, crashed during a training flight near Konya Air Base in central Turkey on April 7, 2021. The pilot was killed.
“One of our NF-5 aircraft belonging to our Air Force, which made a training flight in Konya, suffered an accident at 14:15 for an unknown reason,” the Turkish Ministry of National Defense reported. “Necessary investigation has been initiated on the incident.”
Konya’da eğitim uçuşu yapan Hava Kuvvetlerimize ait bir NF-5 uçağımız saat 14.15’te henüz bilinmeyen bir nedenle kaza kırıma uğramıştır. Konuyla ilgili gerekli inceleme başlatılmıştır.
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) April 7, 2021
The NF-5 was initially developed by Canadair for the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Based on the F-5 Freedom Fighter, it was selected in 1987 to be used for aerobatic flight. The Turkish Stars were formed in 1992 and have flown the NF-5 ever since. They operate 20 single-seater NF-5A jets and a pair of NF-5B twin-seat trainers. The team is stationed at the Konya Air Base in central Turkey.
The last incident involving the Turkish Stars dates back to March 13, 2012, when a pilot was killed during a training session, also in Konya Province.