Turkish Airlines Flight 5904
Crash | |
---|---|
Date | 7 April 1999 |
Summary | Crashed shortly after takeoff due to instrument malfunction |
Site | Near Ceyhan, Adana Province, Turkey 37°12′N 35°21′E / 37.200°N 35.350°E |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Boeing 737-400 |
Aircraft name | Trakya |
Operator | Turkish Airlines |
Registration | TC-JEP |
Flight origin | Adana Şakirpaşa Airport, Adana, Turkey |
Destination | King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
Occupants | 6 |
Passengers | 0 |
Crew | 6 |
Fatalities | 6 |
Survivors | 0 |
Turkish Airlines Flight 5904 was a
Flight
The aircraft was a
The preceding flight from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, had uneventfully transferred 150 pilgrims returning from the hajj to Adana Şakirpaşa Airport, where it landed at around 23:45 EET (20:45 UTC). Remaining on the ground for around one hour for refueling, Flight 5904 took off with a new crew – two pilots and four flight attendants – and around 10 to 15 tons of fuel at 00:36 EET to pick up more pilgrims from Jeddah.[2]
Before takeoff, upon request by the crew, the air traffic controller at Incirlik Air Base relayed the weather report, informing the crew that the entire aerodrome was completely covered by thunderstorms and that the thunderstorms were moving from the south towards the north.[2]
Crash
At 00:44 EET, at an altitude of around 10,000 feet (3.0 km), the aircraft started to descend and crashed into a field some 30 nautical miles (56 km) east-northeast of the airport near Hamdilli village, in the vicinity of Ceyhan, Adana Province. The force of the impact created a 15 metres (49 ft) deep and 30 square metres (320 sq ft) large hole. The horizontal stabilizer of the aircraft was discovered some 250 metres (820 ft) away from the main wreckage, which was spread over an area of around 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft). All six occupants were instantly killed.[3][4][5]
The crash resulted in a large explosion that was reported near Hamdili. After the aircraft vanished from radar, air traffic controllers at Adana Airport and Incirlik Air Base immediately notified the
Investigation
The investigation into the accident was carried out by Turkey's
Final report
The final report concluded that:[2][7]
- Severe thunderstorms probably contributed to the accident.
- The
pitot static anti-ice systemwas probably not activated during preparations for flight.- The crew failed to recognize the cause of erratic airspeed indication.
- The crew failed to use other
cockpit indicationsfor control and recovery of the airplane.- The presence of cabin crew in the cockpit probably distracted the cockpit crew.
References
- Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ a b c "Accident report TC – JEP (07.04.1999)" (in Turkish). Civil Aviation Authority. Archived from the original on 15 June 2008.
- ^ "MİLLİYET HABER SAYFALARI" [NATIONAL NEWS PAGES]. Milliyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ^ "THY uçağı Adana'da düştü" [Turkish Airlines crashes in Adana] (in Turkish). Hürriyet. 7 April 1999. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
- ^ "Aynı faciayı biz de yaşadık" [We experienced the same disaster] (in Turkish). Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ^ "1999 THY – Trakya Uçağı Kazası" [1999 THY - Thrace Aircraft Accident]. www.hvtd.org (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ^ "Identification: DCA99RA053". National Transportation Safety Board. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.