TIL Desk/World/Istanbul/ Pegasus Airlines plane flying into Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport skidded off the end of the wet runway and broke into three pieces after landing on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring 179 others, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
Speaking to reporters in the eastern province of Van, Koca said that three people had died in hospital after the accident, adding that 179 out of the 183 passengers and crew on the plane were wounded. Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said earlier that the plane was carrying 177 passengers and six crew from the western province of Izmir. He said the wounded were being treated at 18 hospitals in the area.
“The plane could not hold on the runway due to poor weather conditions and skidded for around 50-60 metres,” Yerlikaya told reporters at the airport. The plane, a Boeing 737-86J, split into three pieces after what Yerlikaya said was a drop of around 30 to 40 metres at the end of the wet runway. Footage showed the plane landing and continuing at a high speed off the runway.
