Prime Minister Yıldırım authorized the Operation Center to down “friendly and abducted planes” to take measures to ensure the landing of helicopters and fighter jets used by coup plotters.
In line with Prime Minister Yıldırım’s order, aircrafts with air defence systems took off from Erzurum at 04.53 a.m., from Diyarbakır at 05.02 a.m., from Dalaman at 05.43 a.m. and from Balıkesir at 06.49 a.m. Uncontrolled aircrafts in the air were forced to land by the pressure of the 48 F-16 jets. Tanker aircrafts started landing by defueling.
Despite these orders by Prime Minister Yıldırım and the measures taken, aircraft took off from the Adana İncirlik Air Base which was under the control of coup-makers at 04.59 a.m. The illegal task of the number 3 tanker aircraft, which unlawfully took off, was to refuel F-16s which were in the air under the control of putschist soldiers.
People reacting to coup plotters who cut CNN Türk’s live broadcast started gathering in front of CNN Türk headquarters. Putschist soldiers were detained in the following minutes as a result of the intervention of police teams and the support of people. CNN Türk, which had gone off the air, resumed normal broadcasts.
Putschists intervention in CNN Turk broadcast