Turkish passenger plane skids off runway onto seaside cliff

Yahoo – AFP, 14 January 2018

The Pegasus Airlines flight had taken off smoothly from the capital Ankara bound
for Trabzon, where the accident occurred as the plane was landing late Saturday

A plane with 168 people aboard skidded off a runway onto a seaside cliff after landing at an airport in northern Turkey at the weekend, but no one was injured in what one passenger called a "miracle".

The Pegasus Airlines flight had taken off smoothly from the capital Ankara bound for Trabzon, where the accident occurred as the plane was landing late Saturday.

Dramatic images from CNN Turk broadcaster showed the plane lying on the cliffside, its nose just metres (feet) from the waters of the Black Sea and its wheels stuck in mud.

"There was panic, people shouting, screaming," one of the passengers, Fatma Gordu, told state-run Anadolu news agency.

"When they told us to leave from the rear exit, everyone tried to push ahead of everyone else. It was a terrible situation."

She said they could smell fuel and feared that a fire would break out. "That is why we were scared," she said, adding that there were pregnant women and children on board.

Passenger Yuksel Gordu said it was a "miracle" they were saved. "We could have burned, it could have exploded, we could have fallen into the sea... Every time I think about it, I feel I might go crazy," she said.

Images from the Dogan news agency showed smoke emanating from the trapped plane and an engine that appeared to have fallen into the water.

According to the agency, the plane was 25 metres (80 feet) away from the sea.

Pegasus Airlines confirmed in a statement Sunday there were no injuries among the 162 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants.

Pegasus Airlines confirmed in a statement Sunday there were no injuries 

among the 162 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants

The cause of the incident was unknown but an investigation is under way, the Trabzon governor's office said. A crisis centre for the incident was set up at the airport.

"The plane will be removed while all measures have been taken for other work and procedures. These will be carried out step-by-step," Trabzon governor Yucel Yavuz told Anadolu.

He added that a small number of people asked to go to hospital but did not give further detail.

The Trabzon public prosecutor has launched a separate criminal probe. Dogan agency said the prosecutor would seek statements from the six crew onboard.

The airport was temporarily shut before reopening early Sunday, while an operation to remove the plane continued.

Professor Atakan Aksoy from Karadeniz Technical University's civil engineering department said that the construction of a second runway needed to be "accelerated".

"These kinds of accidents can happen due to the narrow ground surface in the northern part of the airport and because it is near a cliff," he told Dogan agency.

Thousands stranded due to Nepal runway closure

Yahoo – AFP, 5 March 2015

Nepalese rescue workers check the area around a Turkish Airlines plane after it slid 

off the tarmac at Kathmandu airport on March 4, 2015 (AFP Photo/Prakash Mathema)

Kathmandu's international airport was closed for a second straight day Thursday, leaving thousands stranded at the start of the tourist season, after a plane skidded off its only runway.

The Indian Air Force flew in experts and equipment to help Nepal remove the Turkish Airlines A330, which had to be evacuated after it skidded off the runway with 224 passengers on board early Wednesday.

All the passengers and crew were unhurt.

Rescue workers check the area around a

 Turkish Airlines plane after it missed the

 runway at Kathmandu's international

 airport on March 4, 2015 (AFP Photo/

Prakash Mathema)

The head of the civil aviation authority, Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, said the Nepal army, police and the Indian experts would work tirelessly until the plane was moved.

International flights have been suspended until 10 am (0415 GMT) Friday, affecting about 12,000 passengers so far.

"Once the airport reopens, it will stay open around the clock for three days in order to ease the backlog of flights," Suman said at a press conference.

Scores of travellers swarmed Kathmandu airport on Thursday for information, among them Lita dela Cruz, a tourist from the Philippines who said she was desperate fly back to London where she works.

"It's a huge problem for me, my employer is expecting me back tonight and I can't see how I will reach (there) on time," she told AFP.

Nepalese migrant worker, Rajman Lodh, said he worried about losing his job in Saudi Arabia if the airport failed to resume operations soon.

"I have already spent 100,000 rupees ($1,000) to get the job and organise my passport and travel, now if my flight is delayed for longer, I may not even be able to start work," Lodh, 34, told AFP.

Nepalese officials said they would launch an investigation into the accident, which damaged the aircraft's landing gear and front engines and dislodged its tyres.

The Himalayan nation is home to some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks and terrain that poses a challenge even for accomplished pilots.

A string of crashes as well as the European Union's decision to blacklist all Nepalese airlines prompted government officials last year to announce plans to install new radar and weather monitoring systems.

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