Turkish Airlines Flight 452
 A Turkish Airlines Boeing 727, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident | |
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 19, 1976 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site |
Karatepe, Isparta, Turkey 37°53′30″N 30°30′04″E / 37.89165°N 30.50114°ECoordinates: 37°53′30″N 30°30′04″E / 37.89165°N 30.50114°E |
| Passengers | 146 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 154 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 727-2F2 |
| Aircraft name | Antalya |
| Operator | Turkish Airlines |
| Registration | TC-JBH |
| Flight origin |
Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport, Turkey |
| Destination |
Antalya Airport, Turkey |
Turkish Airlines Flight 452 was a scheduled flight between Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport and Antalya Airport. On September 19, 1976, a Boeing 727-200 (registration TC-JBH, named Antalya) operating this flight, flew into the slope of a hill at Karatepe in Isparta, 60 mi (97 km) north by northwest of the destination airport because of a pilot error made on approach to landing resulting in the death of 154 people in total.
The accident was the second worst one involving a Boeing 727 at the time and is the all-time worst aviation accident on Turkish soil.[1]
Aircraft
The aircraft, a Boeing 727-2F2 with three Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15 turbofan jet engines, was built by Boeing with manufacturer serial number 20982 and line number 1087. The aircraft was delivered in 1974 and made its first flight on November 11 the same year.[1][2]
Accident
Flight 452 departed Istanbul at 22:45 local time (20:45 UTC) and continued to Antalya via the Yalova and Afyon VOR. At 23:11 local time, the first officer, who was in command while the captain had left the cockpit, called Antalya Airport control tower and reported seeing the runway lights of Antalya Airport even though flying actually still above Isparta. He requested a direct Runway 36 approach and started immediately descent for final approach under VFR instead of IFR without waiting for the clearance. Antalya tower asked the aircraft where it was going to land and warned that it was not in his region yet and it could be seen neither on the radar screen nor by naked eye. Seeing the lights of a 4,000 m (13,000 ft) long straight highway north of Isparta city, the first officer responded that he believed his own eyes.[1]
As the aircraft was at 150 m (490 ft), the captain returned to the cockpit and became aware of the fact that the aircraft was descending onto a highway with truck traffic on it. He initiated a sudden climb with full power. However, the heavily loaded aircraft struck the slope of a hill at Karatepe with its right wing and crashed.
See also
- Air Bagan Flight 11, another aviation disaster where a pilot mistook a road for a runway and attempted a premature landing.
References
- 1 2 3 "Aircraft accident Boeing 727-2F2 TC-JBH Isparta". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
- ↑ Accident Database » Accident Synopsis » 09201976
External links
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