Pegasus Airlines Flight 2193

The wreckage of TC-IZK

Remains of the aircraft after the fire

The aircraft was a Boeing 737-86J[lower-alpha 1] (registration TC-IZK), serial number 37742. It was 11 years old at the time of the crash, having first flown in January 2009. The plane had previously been operated by the now-defunct German airline Air Berlin before being acquired by Pegasus in May 2016.[4] Prior to the crash, Pegasus was scheduled to withdraw this aircraft once leasing expired, as the airline plans to move to an all-Airbus fleet in the future.[5][6]

The captain was Mahmut Aslan, and the first officer was Ferdinand Pondaag, a Dutch national.[7][8]

Flight 2193 operated within Turkey from İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport, Izmir, to Istanbul without incident. At approximately 18:30 local time,[1] the plane attempted to land at Sabiha Gökçen in Istanbul in heavy rain and strong tailwinds.[6] A thunderstorm with strong wind gusts was passing through the area at the time of the accident.[5] Two other aircraft aborted their landing attempts at the same airport shortly before Flight 2193 landed.[9]

After what Turkey's transport minister described as a "rough landing," the aircraft failed to decelerate. It skidded off the east end of the runway[10] and plunged into a ditch, impacting with a force that survivors described as like an explosion.[11] The aircraft broke into three sections, with the forward section of the fuselage especially damaged during the incident. Passengers escaped the plane via gaps between the fuselage sections. A fire broke out, and was later extinguished by firefighters.[1][6]

In the early hours of Feb 6th 2020 Turkey's health minister said three passengers were killed and 179 people were taken to local hospitals with injuries.[1] 12 children were believed to be on board the plane, according to reports from the Turkish media.[12] An investigation of the pilots will be launched based on speculations of crew negligence. The pilots received treatment in the hospital, before they were taken to a police station to provide their statements.[13][14]

The CEO of Pegasus Airlines, Mehmet T. Nane, stated that they had recovered the plane's black boxes, and had begun extracting the data inside.[9] A preliminary report indicated that high tailwinds were present upon landing, and that the pilots, being unaware of this, may have ceased braking efforts prematurely.[2]

On April 8, 2020 the NTSB reported that the event has been classified as an accident and will be investigated by the Government of Turkey. Three occupants died, 19 suffered serious injuries, and 161 suffered minor injuries.

On 28 October 2020, according to the Turkish media, the final report of the experts was presented to the Chief Prosecutor of Istanbul, which however occurred long before the actual completion of the investigations and the actual writing of the final report.

According to the Turkish State Prosecutor's Office, the report states that the accident was "predictable and preventable". The plane had been struck by lightning at the beginning of the flight, which had caused stress to the commander, who wanted to get the plane to the ground as quickly as possible. The approach to runway 06 had become unstable due to excessive speed and strong tailwinds, and the control tower had not given instructions for a go-around. After touch down, the commander deactivated the automatic brakes and spoilers when he deemed the aircraft had slowed sufficiently; in reality, the aircraft did not decelerate for approximately 6 seconds before manual braking was applied, causing the main landing gear to aquaplane. The plane crossed the end of the runway at 57 knots and impacted the airport's perimeter wall. The report also states that the co-pilot, with 400 total flight hours, also failed to report the various deviations from standard procedures during the approach and did not request a go-around. Part of the blame is also placed on the control tower, which, despite considering the landing risky, authorized the flight to land and did not give instructions for a go around. The lack of a safety area at the end of the runway contributed to the accident and in particular to its severity. Finally, on March 5, 2022, the Turkish authorities concluded the investigation into the accident and completed the final report, which however was not made public but released only to the competent authorities. This report confirms that the causes of the accident are those reported in the report presented to the Chief Prosecutor of Istanbul. [15]

• Pegasus Airlines Flight 8622 – Another Pegasus Boeing 737 involved in a runway overrun.
• Air India Express Flight 1344