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The F-16 tracked Erdogan's plane on its radar, but couldn't approach close enough to fire as its fuel was reportedly running low, forcing the pilot to abort the mission, according to Yeni Safak. The reason why the F-16 didn't fire had remained unknown until recently, with a former military officer familiar with the events cited by Reuters as saying it was "a mystery." "At least two F-16s harassed Erdogan's plane while it was in the air and en route to Istanbul," the officer noted.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan managed to cheat death twice overnight on June 15, Yeni Safak claims. Erdogan left the hotel in the resort town of Marmaris where he was on family holiday just "minutes" before an assassination squad came after him and then he evaded death in the air.
The Turkish leader was on his way to Istanbul, but had to temporarily change its flyway to the city of Izmir until it was safe to land at the initial destination point. His plane reached the city unscathed before daybreak on Saturday on July 16. The unplanned changes in his route were previously explained by "trouble in the air," as a high-ranking official put it, according to Reuters.
The coup plotters reportedly had bombed places in the resort town of Marmaris after he left, Erdogan said, according to Reuters. Around 25 assassinators dispatched to the area from a helicopter in an effort to seize and probably kill the Turkish president.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim allegedly was also targeted in Istanbul during the coup attempt but managed to escape.The failed coup took place in Turkey on July 15 and was suppressed the following day. Nearly 250 people were killed while more than 2,000 suffered injuries, not counting the casualties among the plotters, according to Turkey's authorities.
I agree with SOTT comment in that this sounds like a lie told in order to cover another lie. Indeed if I were the pilot of that fighter jet, a career not taken lightly by anyone, and had made the decision to risk my life in the pursuit of my beliefs, then a low fuel warning when the target was in my sights (radar lock was mentioned when this story first appeared) would be the last of my concerns.