Turkish Plane Skids Off Runway and Breaks into Pieces, 3 Dead and at least 170 Injured

New Delhi, February 6, 2020:

A plane broke into pieces after it skidded off the runway and crashed into a field at the Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul.

According to latest reports, three people have died so far and at least 170 people had been injured and were rushed to the hospital. Governor Ali Yerlikaya said that the Pegasus Airlines plane failed to hold on to the runway and skidded some 50-60 meters before it crashed from a height of about 30 meters.

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Videos showed serious damage caused to the plane. The fuselage seemed to be broken into three pieces. Soon, people were seen swarming in around the fuselage and the cockpit that had flipped over.

It may be mentioned here that it is rare for a fuselage to split open while pieces remain largely intact. Generally, planes are designed to absorb impact forces in the bottom of the fuselage to ensure that passengers in the cabin above would survive.

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The Pegasus Airlines plane was a Boeing 737. It was arriving from Izmir in Western Turkey. Istanbul-run Anadolu Agency reported that there was a rough landing. It quoted Transportation and Infrastructure Minister, Istanbul, Mehmet Cahit Turan saying, “The accident occurred after (the plane) could not decelerate and rammed into a field from the end of the runway.”

It may be mentioned here that on January 7, a Pegasus Airlines plane with 164 people on board had skidded off the runway in Istabul at the same airport, i.e. Sabiha Gokcen Airport. No deaths were reported then.

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However, the two plane incidents happening in less than a month’s time has come as a shock to the Pegasus Airlines and it has also raised questions on the safety of the passengers of the same.

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