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Turkish Airlines Flight 1951

Coordinates: 52°22′34″N 4°42′50″E / 52.37611°N 4.71389°E / 52.37611; 4.71389
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Turkish Airlines Flight 1951
The Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-8F2, registration TC-JGE, just after the crash near Schiphol Airport.
Occurrence
Date25 February 2009 (2009-02-25)
SummaryAirline crash
SiteNorth of the Polderbaan runway (18R/36L) of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
52°22′34″N 4°42′50″E / 52.37611°N 4.71389°E / 52.37611; 4.71389
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-8F2[1] [2]
Aircraft nameTekirdağ[3]
OperatorTurkish Airlines
RegistrationTC-JGE[3]
Flight originAtatürk Int'l Airport, Istanbul, Turkey
DestinationAmsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands
Passengers128[4]
Crew7[3]
Fatalities9 (3 crew)[5]
Injuries86; 6 critical, 25 severe
Survivors126

Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 was a passenger flight which crashed near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, on 25 February 2009, killing nine people, including the three pilots. Five victims were Turkish citizens and four were Americans.[6] The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

The aircraft, a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800, crashed into a field approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of the Polderbaan runway just beside the A9 motorway, at 9:31 UTC (10:31 CET), having flown from Istanbul, Turkey. Although the aircraft broke into three pieces the wreckage did not catch fire.[7][1][8]

Background

On February 18th, one week before the crash, the Turkish Civil Aviation Union accused the airline of "inviting disaster", by "ignoring the most basic function of flight safety, which is plane maintenance services". "The company administration does not understand the consequences of ripping people from their jobs and inviting a disaster" they added.[1]

In response to these accusations, Turkish Airlines issued a statement saying it takes safety seriously and that it followed all "maintenance procedures of the plane manufacturer, national and international authorities directives" for the plane.[1]

A total of 128 passengers and seven crew members were on board[4] when the flight left Istanbul at 6:22 UTC (7:22 CET) under the command of Captain Hasan Tahsin Arısan, one of the airline's most experienced pilots with more than 15,500 hours. He had been working for Turkish Airlines since 1996, and previously flew for the Turkish Air Force.[9] The other crew members were Olgay Özgür (co-pilot), Murat Sezer (pilot), Figen Eren, Perihan Özden, Ulvi Murat Eskin, and Yasemin Vural.[10]

The aircraft had been registered as TC-JGE, had been named "Tekirdağ" and had been built in 2002.[3][11]

According to Turkish Airlines, two days before the accident the pilot of this plane reported a failure with the "Master Caution Light" while taxiing. The part was replaced by the maintenance team and the aircraft had eight take-offs and landings without any problems, until the accident occurred.[1]

Landing and damage

Rescuers at the scene

The plane was cleared for an approach on runway 18R (also known as the Polderbaan runway) but came down short of the runway threshold.

The aircraft suffered significant damage. Although the fuselage broke into three pieces, it did not catch fire. Both engines separated and came to rest 100 metres (300 ft) from the fuselage.[9]

The Schiphol authorities confirmed nine fatalities and a total of 86 injuries during a press conference. The nine crash victims were five Turkish citizens and four American citizens.[4] Among them are the pilot, co-pilot and a trainee pilot.[8][12]

Six passengers were in critical condition, 25 had sustained severe injuries, 24 minor injuries and 31 injuries of which the seriousness still has to be confirmed.[1]

Aftermath

Runway diagram of Schiphol Airport with the Polderbaan runway depicted in black and the location of the crash marked with a red star.
Both jet engines separated, coming to rest 100 metres (330 ft) from the fuselage.
The tail section of the plane reportedly hit the ground first.

While several survivors and witnesses indicated that it took rescuers 20 to 30 minutes to arrive at the site after the crash,[13][14] others have stated that the rescuers arrived quickly at the scene.[13][15][16] About 60 ambulances arrived along with at least three helicopters and a fleet of fire engines.[17] An unconfirmed report by De Telegraaf states that the firefighters were at first given the wrong location for the crash site, delaying their arrival.[18]

The bodies of two crew members were still in the cockpit at 20:00, several hours after the crash, because the cockpit had to be examined before it could be torn apart to get to these crew members;[19] the identities of the victims have not yet been made public,[20] according to the Dutch authorities they have not yet received a complete passenger list for inspection and release.[21] Lanes of the A4 and A9 motorways were closed for normal traffic to allow emergency services to quickly reach the crash site. The relatives of the passengers were sent to Amsterdam by Turkish Airlines.

All flights in and out of Schiphol Airport were suspended according to an airport spokeswoman. Several planes were diverted to Rotterdam Airport. At about 11:15 UTC, it was reported that the Kaagbaan runway (06/24) had been re-opened to air traffic, followed by the Buitenveldertbaan runway (09/27).

Initially, Turkish Transport minister Binali Yıldırım and media claimed that there were no deaths in the incident,[22] which was later contradicted by airport authorities in Amsterdam. A later release corrected the casualty figures and announced contact numbers for family and friends.[3]

Investigation

The Dutch Safety Board will lead the investigation. An expert team from Turkish Airlines has been dispatched to aid the investigation.[23] As normal in investigations, they have requested submission of photos and videos taken by witnesses.[24] The NTSB announced that they were sending a representative team, accompanied by advisors from Boeing and the FAA.[25]

Passengers

Within hours of the crash, Turkish Airlines published the passenger list.[26] The Dutch authorities stated the following day that the plane carried 53 passengers from the Netherlands, 51 from Turkey, seven from the United States, three from the United Kingdom and one each from Germany, Bulgaria, Finland, Italy and one from either Thailand[27] or Taiwan[28]. The nationality of the remaining nine passengers is currently unknown.

Among the passengers were the sisters Jihad and Hajar Alariachi, presenters of the Dutch television programme De Meiden van Halal. Jihad was taken to hospital with minor injuries.[29]

Four of the seven Americans were identified by Boeing as employees travelling on unspecified business.[30]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "CNN: Turkish plane crashes at Amsterdam airport". 25 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  2. ^ "25 FEB 2009 Boeing 737-8F2". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Accident Information Page". Turkish Airlines. Retrieved 26 February 2009.. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (2009-02-26). "Vijf Turken en vier Amerikanen omgekomen bij crash" (in Dutch). TC/Tubantia. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  5. ^ "Turkish plane crash in Amsterdam". BBC News. 25 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  6. ^ "Turkish airline accused over plane repairs". CNN. 26 February 2009.
  7. ^ Simon Hradecky. "Accident: Turkish Airlines B738 at Amsterdam on Feb 25th 2009, landed on a field". The Aviation Herald.
  8. ^ a b "Turkey plane crashes in Amsterdam". BBC News.
  9. ^ a b Caroline Brothers and Sebnem Arsu (25 February 2009). "9 killed as Turkish plane crashes near Amsterdam". Paris: International Herald Tribune.
  10. ^ "Nine dead, 84 injured in Turkish Airlines plane crash in Amsterdam". Hurriyet Daily News Online. 25 February 2009.
  11. ^ "Aircraft TC-JGE Profile". AirportData.com. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  12. ^ "Nine killed as Turkish plane crashes at Amsterdam - Summary". Earth Times.
  13. ^ a b "Kranten staan uitgebreid stil bij crash" (in Dutch). fok.nl. 26 February 2009.
  14. ^ "Kazadan kurtulan yolcular olayı anlattı" (in Turkish). 25 February 2009.
  15. ^ "How the Schiphol crash happened". 25 February 2009.
  16. ^ "Turkish Airlines plane crashes near Schiphol - 5th Update". 25 February 2009.
  17. ^ Liz Hazelton. "Nine dead but 126 survive after plane crashes and breaks into three pieces at Amsterdam airport". Daily Mail.
  18. ^ "Boeing 737 Crasht Bij Schiphol" (in Dutch). De Telegraaf. 25 February 2009.
  19. ^ "Crash B-737-800 Turkish Airlines, Schiphol Amsterdam killing at least 9". Aviation News EU. 25 February 2009.
  20. ^ "THY uçağı düştü" (in Turkish). Hurriyet. 25 February 2009.
  21. ^ "Air crash shocks the Netherlands". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 25 February 2009.
  22. ^ "Holland: Government and Turkish Companies, No Deaths". AGI News. 25 February 2009.
  23. ^ "Hollanda'da THY uçağı yere çakıldı" (in Turkish). Radikal. 26 February 2009.
  24. ^ "Onderzoeksraad start onderzoek crash Turkish Airlines op Schiphol" (in Dutch). 25 February 2009.
  25. ^ "NTSB sends team to Amsterdam to assist with 737 aircraft accident investigation" (Press release). National Transportation Safety Board. 25 February 2009.
  26. ^ "Passenger List". Turkish Airlines. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  27. ^ "6 doden en 4 gewonden niet geïndentificeerd" (in Dutch). Trouw. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 20009-02-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  28. ^ . Associated Press. 26 February 2009 5 Turks, 4 Americans among dead in Dutch crash http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090226/ap_on_re_eu/eu_netherlands_plane_crash;_ylt=Al.OvQOf1K5MS7Hfi18obmxvaA8F 5 Turks, 4 Americans among dead in Dutch crash. Retrieved 20009-02-26. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ^ "Meiden van Halal in ramptoestel" (in Dutch). De Telegraaf. 25 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  30. ^ "4 Boeing employees on plane in Amsterdam crash". Associated Press. 25 February 2009.
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