Plane skids off runway, almost plunges into sea
Images show the plane lying just metres from the waters of the Black Sea. Photo: Getty
A Pegasus Airlines flight has skidded off the runway of a Turkish coastal airport and ended up halfway down a steep slope into the Black Sea, but no passengers or crew were hurt, Turkish media has reported.
The incident happened on Monday morning, Australian time, at Trabzon airport in northeast Turkey.
Pegasus Airlines said in a statement the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, flying from Ankara to Trabzon, suffered a “runway excursion incident” as it landed but the 162 passengers, two pilots and four cabin crew were unhurt.
Pictures from the site showed the plane’s nose just metres to the water’s edge and an engine that appeared to have fallen into the water. No smoke was seen emanating from the trapped plane.
The cause of the incident was not explained by the airline but an investigation into the crash is underway.
https://twitter.com/AnalystTK/status/952481394088869888
“There has been no loss of life or injury to anyone on-board,” the airline said in its official statement.
“All 162 passengers, two pilots and four cabin crew have been disembarked safely from the aircraft.”
One of the passengers, named Fatma Gordu, explained the panic on-board during the crash landing.
PLANE SCARE: Drone footage shows a Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737 dangling from a beachside cliff in Trabzon province, Turkey. #trabzon #turkey #pegasus #airplane #plane #boeing #737 #skid #runway #accident #cliff #blacksea #beach #drone #worldnewstonight pic.twitter.com/hQQzf8nRcX
— GENAROTIJERINATV (@genarotijerinag) January 14, 2018
“We tilted to the side, the front was down while the plane’s rear was up. There was panic, people shouting, screaming,” she told state-run news agency Anadolu.
“When they told us to leave from the rear exit, everyone tried to push ahead of everyone else. It was a terrible situation.”
The airport was temporarily shut down after the crash, before reopening on Sunday, local time.
– with wires