Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus Airlines suffered an accident at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport where one of its planes skidded off the runway and had broken in three pieces injuring 120 people.
Pegasus Airlines flight 2193 from Izmir to Istanbul (SAW) suffered a runway excursion on landing and broke into three pieces after sliding down an embankment. The aircraft was landing in poor weather at the time. The extent of injuries to those onboard is not yet known.
Flightradar website indicates that PC2193 departed Izmir at 14:22 UTC for Istanbul (SAW) and touched down just under an hour later at 15:19 UTC. After processing granular data from the flight, the last position received from the aircraft was 40.90509, 29.32608 and 63 knots ground speed at 15:19:30 UTC. The aircraft’s final position is slightly beyond that down an embankment.
PC2193 was operated by TC-IZK, a Boeing 737-800 built in 2009. It entered service with Pegasus Airlines in 2016 after operating for now-defunct Air Berlin.
At least 120 people were injured and taken to area hospitals, Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said, according to The Associated Press. The transportation minister, Mehmet Cahit Turhan, said the accident, which occurred at about 6:30 p.m. local time, was the result of a “rough landing.”
A picture shows the crash site of a Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737 airplane, after it skidded off the runway upon landing at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul on February 5, 2020. – The plane carrying 171 passengers from the Aegean port city of Izmir split into three after landing in rough weather. Officials said no-one had lost their lives in the accident, but dozens of people were injured. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The airport was closed and flights diverted after the accident. The plane was landing in heavy rain and strong tailwinds, Turkish media reports said.
They said the majority of people on board were Turkish but there were about 20 foreign nationals.
Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said: “Unfortunately, the Pegasus Airlines plane couldn’t hold on the runway due to poor weather conditions and skidded for around 50-60 metres.”
Just almost a month ago, a same airline Pegasus Airlines’ Boeing 737 coming in from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates skidded off the runway at the same airport, Sabiha Gokcen, on 7 January 2020. There were no casualties but the airport had to be temporarily closed.
And a Pegasus Boeing 737 also skidded off the runway at Trabzon airport in January 2018, plunging down the side of a cliff overlooking the sea. There were no casualties.
