The nose gear of a Turkish F-4E Phantom collapsed upon landing.
On May 31, 2019, a Turkish Air Force F-4E-2020 belonging to the 111 Filo (Squadron) “Panthers”, based at Eskisehir air base, crash-landed at Erhaç / Malatya air base in the east of the country. According to the reports in the Turkish media, the landing gear of the aircraft collapsed after landing forcing both pilots to eject. The Turkish MoD said that the pilots are not in danger of life.
Vuslat Haber media outlet has published some shots from the site: one of the photographs shows the Phantom with a collapsed nose gear and damaged nose section.
The “Spooks” have been in service with the Turkish Air Force for 45 years. Turkey decided to equip the THK with the F-4E in 1972. The first aircraft were delivered on Aug. 30, 1974. Since then, the Turkish Air Force has received several Phantoms under projects dubbed Peace Diamond I, II, III, IV, V and VI, and Kaan.
Today, some 30 F-4E 2020 Terminator aircraft remain in service with the 111 Filo (and Test Filo): the “Terminator” is a modernized F-4E Phantom variant that embeds structural and avionics upgrades, including the EL/M-2032 pulse doppler radar, Mil Std 1553B multiplex databus, Elbit ACE-3 computer, a new electronic warfare system and a brand new cockpit featuring the Kaiser EL-OP wide-angle HUD (Head-Up Display), MFDs (multifunction displays), and HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) controls.
H/T to e-Αmyna for the heads-up!
