Authorities investigate allegations of nuclear material in crashed plane

An investigation into a private plane that crashed after taking off from Trabzon on Turkey's Black Sea coast en route to neighboring Iran is ongoing and a series of allegations, including that the aircraft was carrying nuclear materials, are under examination, the interior minister said Wednesday.

Rescue teams located on Tuesday the wreckage of the two-seat private plane in a mountainous area about 50 kilometers southeast of Trabzon in the Black Sea region.

"Judicial authorities are in charge of the matter. Relevant authorities are assessing it," Interior Minister Osman Güneş told reporters, when asked to comment on allegations that the two-seat plane had been carrying nuclear materials. "No information has yet been submitted to us." Asked whether the two people on board -- a British pilot and a Pakistani national, who reports said was a retired general -- were being watched, he said "yes."

The British-registered Sky Arrow 650T plane went missing on Sunday and its wreckage was located on Tuesday in a mountainous area about 50 kilometers southeast of Trabzon. The Transportation Ministry said the plane had set out from Ankara Thursday and landed at Trabzon for refueling. It was forced to wait until Sunday to resume its flight due to adverse weather conditions. A land and airborne rescue operation was launched after Turkish authorities were informed by officials in Tabriz that the aircraft had not landed at the city as intended.

The crash of the plane has roused suspicions about the identity of its passengers and the purpose of its flight from Trabzon to Iran. There was speculation that the people on board, British citizen Michael Newman and Pakistani B. Bhangoo, were intelligence agents. Authorities have said every aspect of the incident was being investigated. Feeding suspicions, the two men had dared a risky flight with a small plane above the mountainous area, instead of taking a scheduled flight.

The pair stayed in a small hotel in Trabzon, whose manager told reporters after the accident that police and officials from the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) had frequently come to the hotel to ask questions about them. One speculation is that MİT was keeping a close eye on Newman and Bhangoo as part of efforts coordinated with the CIA to stem nuclear technology transfer to Iran, which the West suspects is trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability. According to speculation Bhangoo might have been carrying chips containing nuclear know-how and materials that could be used in nuclear weapons production.

The cause of the crash also remains a mystery. Newspaper reports said Wednesday that the high-quality fuel that planes of that type should use was not available in Trabzon and that the fuel obtained there might have caused the plane to crash during the trip.

"These are all under investigation now," said Trabzon Governor Nuri Okutan in response to questions about the possible role of low-quality fuel in the crash. "These are technical issues and my comment would not be appropriate." The fate of the bodies of the two men will be determined after Turkish authorities discuss the matter with officials at the relevant embassies, Okutan also said.