1 dead, 139 injured in Istanbul plane crash: Turkish officials

One person is dead and at least 139 people are injured  after a plane crashed at an Istanbul, Turkey airport on Wednesday, Turkish officials said.

Turkish media footage showed the Pegasus Airlines plane’s broken fuselage as some passengers were being evacuated at the Sabiha Gokcen airport. The plane skidded off the runway and then crashed into an embankment while it was landing.

View image in full screen

“According to the information we have, there was a rough landing. The accident occurred after (the plane) could not decelerate and rammed into a field from the end of the runway,” state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Mehmet Cahit Turan as saying.

Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said the weather was bad at the time of the crash.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“The plane could not hold on the runway due to poor weather conditions and skidded for around 50-60 metres,” Yerlikaya said, according to Reuters.

Previous footage also showed part of the exterior of the plane had caught on fire. Several emergency workers were at the scene.

Yerlikaya also said the plane, a Boeing 737-86J, was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members from Turkey’s western province of Izmir. Global Affairs Canada told Global News in an email statement that there are no reports of Canadians citizens being involved in the crash.

Flight Safety Foundation reported that the plane crash occurred amid rainy and windy weather, and the incident left the plane visibly broken.

It is rare for a fuselage to split open while pieces remain largely intact. Planes are designed to absorb impact forces in the bottom of the fuselage to improve the chances that passengers in the cabin above will survive.

The accident comes a month after another Pegasus plane skidded off the runway in Istanbul at the same airport. There were no deaths or injuries in that incident on Jan. 7.

Pegasus is a privately-owned, low-cost carrier based in Istanbul that flies 97 routes, mostly within Turkey and to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. It is majority owned by Turkish billionaire Sevket Sabanci and his family, who have big investments in the country in areas as varied as real estate, clothing, health clubs and packaging materials.

— With files from Reuters, The Associated Press