The Anadolu Agency said yesterday that the training plane crashed for unknown reasons after taking off from a landing strip belonging to the Turkish Aeronautical Association.
The victims were the association's Ayvalik branch chair, Mustafa Dogrular, 60, and a 25-year-old aviation student from Istanbul.
Local firefighters were deployed to the scene and cooled off the wrecked plane, which was leaking fuel, the agency reported.
Balikesir has shores on the Aegean and Marmara Seas. It is a popular summer destination for both Turkish and and foreign tourists.