A Pegasus Airlines flight skidded off the runway of a Turkish coastal airport and ended up halfway down a steep slope into the Black Sea, but no passengers or crew were hurt, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing local media.
The incident occurred on Saturday night at Trabzon Airport in northeast Turkey. Pictures from the site showed the plane’s nose close to the water’s edge.
Pegasus Airlines said in a statement that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, flying from Ankara to Trabzon, “had a runway excursion incident” as it landed but that the 162 passengers, two pilots and four crewmembers were unhurt.
Everyone on board was evacuated safely, provincial governor Yücel Yavuz announced.
The cause of the accident is being investigated, officials said.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said there was panic on board as the plane went out of control.
“We tilted to the side. The front was down while the plane’s rear was up. There was panic, people shouting, screaming,” passenger Fatma Gordu was quoted as saying, according to a BBC report.
Yavuz said the airport was closed for several hours while an investigation was being conducted.
