A Boeing 737 Plane Skidded And Broke Into 3 Pieces In Istanbul
Three people were killed and 179 others were injured in the crash.
By May Vin Ang — 06 Feb 2020, 12:32 PM
A passenger jet carrying 183 people onboard skidded off a runway at an Istanbul airport and split into three parts on Wednesday, 5 February
The Boeing 737-800 was trying to land in strong winds and rain
"The plane could not hold on the runway due to poor weather conditions and skidded for around 50-60 metres," the governor of Istanbul, Ali Yerlikaya, told reporters at the airport, reported The Guardian.
He said the plane then fell between 30 and 40 metres off the end of the runway.
The exact cause of the crash is still unknown.
Footage shared by Turkish media showed heavy damage to the plane's fuselage, with the front portion and tail appearing to have broken away from the rest of the plane
Business Insider reported that the exterior of the plane had also caught on fire after the crash but was quickly put out by firefighters at the scene.
Other footage showed rescue workers surrounding the plane, leading passengers out through gaps in the fuselage.
Yerlikaya told reporters at the airport that the wounded were being treated at 18 hospitals around the area.
All incoming flights have been diverted to Istanbul's new airport.
The accident was not the first such incident for Pegasus Airlines
According to The Straits Times, last month saw another one of the airline's 737-800 plane run off the edge of a runway at the same airport after landing in bad weather.
However, the accident did not result in any injuries.
