Journalist Ece Sevim Öztürk said a military aircraft used by force commanders flew to Dalaman one day before Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt, raising questions about whether a senior commander traveled to the area where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was on vacation.
According to Öztürk, the aircraft, identified in flight records as TUAF009 Cessna 650 Station 7, was a military command plane used by force commanders and, when necessary, the chief of general staff.
She said the plane flew to Dalaman on July 14, 2016, remained there until around 5 p.m. and then departed for İstanbul.
“This is the official aircraft of the force commanders. I can understand from here that it is an official command aircraft,” Öztürk said.
She said the timing was significant because July 14 was one day before the coup attempt.
Öztürk also referred to remarks by Serkan Yazıcı, the owner of the hotel where Erdoğan was staying, who reportedly said Erdoğan left the hotel on July 14 and went somewhere, possibly Okluk.
The report said the claim, if accurate, raised the question of whether a force commander flew to Dalaman on the same day Erdoğan left his hotel.
July 14 described as critical
Cilara and Öztürk said developments on July 14, 2016, should be examined closely because they may have included decisive events before the coup attempt.
The flight record and related images are significant when evaluated together.
The new allegation raised the question of which commander was on the aircraft that flew to Dalaman.
Question over absent commander
The two journalists noted that then-Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar and some force commanders were known to have attended a cadet graduation ceremony.
They suggested that the only senior figure who was not at the ceremony and whose location was not accounted for was then-Air Force Commander Abidin Ünal.
Ankara blames the coup attempt on the Gülen movement, a transnational civic initiative inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, and designates the movement as a terrorist organization. The movement denies involvement.
The report formed part of continuing efforts by critics of the official July 15 narrative to question the movements of senior military and political figures before the coup attempt.
