Fatal AtlasJet crash in 2007 attributed to pilot error

The investigation of a fatal aviation accident last year in Turkey concluded that pilot error caused the crash. AtlasJet Flight KK 4203 had originated in Istanbul shortly before 01:00 AM on November 30, 2007, and was approaching Süleyman Demirel Airport at Isparta, Turkey when it collided with terrain about seven miles from the Isparta airport, near a village called Keciborlu. All seven crew members and 50 passengers on board died in the accident.

A brief article on the Turkish news website Hürriyet quoted Turkey's Transport Minister, Binali Yildirim, who said that the pilots of the MD-83 aircraft "did not follow the rules during landing, which led to a collision accident."

According to a press statement issued by AtlasJet shortly after the crash, the accident aircraft was on lease to AtlasJet from World Focus Airlines, and the pilots, cabin crew chief, and a flight technician all were employees of World Focus. The other cabin crew were AtlasJet Staff.

57 perish in the crash of AtlasJet Flight KK 4203 in Turkey

An MD-83 aircraft operated by AtlasJet, a Turkish airline, has crashed near the town of Isparta in south central Turkey. There were no survivors among the seven crew and 50 passengers on board. The aircraft was destroyed.

AtlasJet Flight KK 4203 had originated in Istanbul shortly before 01:00 AM on November 30, 2007, and was approaching Süleyman Demirel Airport at Isparta when air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft. The crash site was discovered in a mountainous region about seven miles from the Isparta airport, near a village called Keciborlu. Both the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder were reported to have been recovered from the wreckage.

The aircraft was on lease to AtlasJet from World Focus Airlines, according to a press statement about the accident issued by the CEO of AtlasJet, Tuncay Doganer. The pilots, cabin crew chief, and a flight technician all were employees of World Focus. The other three cabin crew were AtlasJet Staff.

The airline has released the names of the crew of AtlasJet Flight 4203, who perished in the accident:

World Focus Crew

Pilots: SERHAT ÖZDEMİR, TAHİR AKSOY

Cabin Chief: ÇAĞATAY ŞİRİN

Flight Technician: ALAATTİN ÇELİK GÜRTÜRK

AtlasJet Cabin Crew: MANA TOPÇU, SİNEM HATİCE VURGUN, MUMİNE BULUT

Click here for photos of the AtlasJet accident.

Condolences to the families of the crew and passengers of AtlasJet Flight KK 4203.

AtlasJet hijackers end up in custody in Turkey

Early this morning, two men attempted to hijack an AtlasJet flight en route from Ercan International Airport in northern Cyprus to Istanbul. The MD-83 aircraft with 136 on board diverted to Antalya, a city on Turkey's Mediterranean coast where the would-be hijackers ultimately were taken into custody.

According to a report about the attempted hijacking on CNN, passengers from the flight said that two men from the back of the plane "rushed to the front and tried to break open the cockpit door." When their attempt to enter the flight deck failed, "the men began talking to the flight attendants in a mix of Arabic and English and asked to be taken to either Iran or Syria."

Passengers have told the press that the hijackers claimed they had a bomb, and that at least one of the men was armed with a knife.

News reports say that after the aircraft landed at Antalya, the pilots escaped through the cockpit windows. Some passengers and other crew members were held hostage aboard the plane for several hours after it landed.

The Guardian said that the hijackers allowed one of the doors of the aircraft to be opened for fresh air.

Most of the passengers had escaped the plane from the rear exit at Antalya airport while the hijackers were releasing women and children. But the hijackers held some six crew and passengers for around four hours before allowing them to leave the plane and later surrendering to authorities.

TV news footage shows passengers and other crew members evacuating through emergency exits and running from the aircraft while it sat on the runway at Antalya.

Here are some links to TV footage of the incident, from YouTube:

• BBC World Service - posted by YouTube user komotini24.
• CNN Turk (Turkish language) - posted by YouTube user nusretten.

Turkey's Transport Minister Osman Gunes, quoted by the news media, said one hijacker is Turkish, while the other is believed to be Palestinian carrying a Syrian passport.

This is the second time I've reported on the hijacking of a Turkish airliner this year. In April, a Pegasus Airlines B737 was hijacked on a flight between Diyarbakir and Istanbul.