Turkish Airlines Flight 345

Turkish Airlines Flight 345 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by a Fokker F28-1000 Fellowship from Izmir Cumaovası Airport to Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport that crashed into the Sea of Marmara on 30 January 1975 during the approach to its destination.^[1]

It was the second worst accident involving a Fokker F28 and third deadliest aviation accident in Turkey at that time.^[1]

Background

The aircraft operating flight 345 was a Fokker F28 Fellowship 1000 powered by two Rolls-Royce RB183-2 "Spey" Mk555-15 turbofan jet engines. It was built by Fokker with manufacturer serial number 11058 and made its first flight in 1972. Since then, it accumulated 3713 flying hours in 5062 cycles.^[1] With 38 passengers and 4 crew members on board, flight 345 took off from Izmir Cumaovası Airport at 18:00 local time for a 40-minute flight to Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport.^[2]

Accident

At 18:39, the aircraft touched down on the runway at Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport but an electrical power failure at the airport at that very moment forced the crew to initiate a missed approach. Twenty-two seconds after the lights went off, the emergency generator jumped in and restored the runway lights. The pilot elected to remain VFR under a variable ceiling of 240 m (790 ft). At 18:43, the crew asked for permission to land while positioning for another approach. However, because another aircraft, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 747, was about to take off, air traffic control ordered the crew of flight 345 to fly an extended downwind leg. When, at 18:53, air traffic control attempted to establish contact with flight 345, it received no answer.^[2]

It was determined that the aircraft crashed into the Sea of Marmara. However, the wreckage could not be located until several years later.^[3]

Recovery

The relatives of the victims continuously demanded without success the recovery of the wreckage and the bodies of the victims from the sea floor.^[3] A 3 m (9.8 ft) by 3 m (9.8 ft) 200 kg (440 lb) portion from the rear fuselage with five window frames was recovered on March 17, 2009 by shrimp trawling fishermen off the Avcılar-Florya coast. The finding was handed over to Turkish Airlines^[4] after inspection by Stuart Kline, an American historian of aviation living in Turkey.^[5]

References