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A Turkish firefighting aircraft crashed and caught fire near the Croatian coastal city of Senj on Thursday evening, killing the pilot, according to the Croatian Firefighters Association.
The AT802 Airtractor went down close to Krivi put, a village in the Senj area, after encountering adverse weather conditions during a maintenance flight. Firefighters from the City of Senj Fire Department responded to the alarm at 5:06 p.m. local time and quickly localized the blaze on the aircraft.
"Unfortunately, around 6:40 p.m., the body of the deceased pilot was found," the Croatian Firefighters Association said in a statement.
Two Airtractor firefighting planes had departed from Tirana, Albania, heading toward Rijeka before continuing their flight to Zagreb for scheduled maintenance. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, both aircraft were forced to turn back.
One plane landed safely at Krk Airport, while the second crashed and caught fire above Senj. Police, firefighters, and emergency medical services were immediately dispatched to the crash site after the aircraft disappeared from radar.
Zvonimir Loncaric, commander of the Lika-Senj County Fire Association, confirmed the swift emergency response. "The alarm about the accident arrived at 5:06 p.m., and Senj firefighters immediately went to the scene and localized the fire on the aircraft," Loncaric said. "The intervention has been completed, and firefighter shifts are currently being rotated."
The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which operates the firefighting aircraft through the General Directorate of Forestry, said coordination efforts with Croatian authorities are ongoing and that further details would be shared with the public as information becomes available.
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