An aircraft with 168 on board slid off the runway at Trabzon International Airport in Turkey and went down an embankment on Saturday, almost plunging into the Black Sea, the Turkish Daily Sabah reported. However, all 162 passengers and six crew members escaped unhurt and were evacuated, Trabzon Governor Yücel Yavuz said.
Yavuz added that the cause of the accident was not known yet, and that the airport remained closed till 8 am local time (10.30 am Indian Standard Time) on Sunday. Work is on to remove Boeing 737-800 jet, which belongs to private low-cost carrier Pegasus, from the site.
Investigators have begun an inquiry into the cause of the accident. Pegasus Airlines said the plane “had a runway excursion incident” as it landed at Trabzon.
“We stayed inside the plane for at least 20 minutes waiting for someone to help us,” Fatma Gördü, one of the passengers, said. She said she first heard a loud noise and then the plane began to shake as it landed on the runway. “It then swung to one side and back of the plane moved upwards. There was panic, people were screaming.”
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