Passenger jet snaps into three
A passenger jet with 183 people on board skidded off the runway, broke into three pieces and burst into flames due to a "rough landing" at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport.
Horrifying images show the splintered wreckage of the Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737 as rescue teams worked desperately to remove passengers on Wednesday night (Thursday AM AEDT).
Incredibly, all on board survived the impact of the brutal crash.
"There has been no loss of life, the injured passengers are being evacuated off the plane to hospitals," Turkish transport minister Cahit Turan said.
However at least 52 people were injured as a "result of a rough landing".
Turkish media reported that the jet, which was arriving in Istanbul from the Turkish city of Izmir, crashed into a road.
Video PLANE CRASH Pegasus #PC2193 Boeing 737-800 from Izmir went off the runway in Istanbul and broke apart. Front section separated and flipped while the rear of the plane has a large crack. A small fire was seen near the rear. Approx 180 people on board.pic.twitter.com/1EluP3bqpw
— Tom Podolec Aviation (@TomPodolec) February 5, 2020
Footage shared to social media showed passengers dazed and covered in blood as they walked away from the wreck, which eventually caught on fire.
The Boeing 737-86J departed from Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport at 4:40pm local time and was due to arrive at Istanbul at 5:45pm but crashed just before 6.20pm.
Pegasus Airlines confirmed the crash, but did not provide any further comment.
NTV said the airport is closed, with all flights being diverted to Istanbul's Ataturk airport.
