Pegasus Airlines Flight 8622


Pegasus Airlines Flight 8622 was a domestic flight from Ankara to Trabzon, Turkey. On 13 January 2018, while landing on runway 11 at Trabzon Airport, the aircraft operating the flight ran off the left side of the runway and partially slid down a cliff. While there were no fatalities nor injuries of the 168 passengers and crew, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and subsequently written off.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-82R, msn 40879, with serial number 4267, registration TC-CPF and named Zeynep, operated by the Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines. The aircraft took its first flight on 15 November 2012. It had flown 9 flights on January 13 with no reports by pilots or ground crew of any damage or issues of any kind.

Accident

Flight 8622 is a scheduled domestic flight from Esenboğa International Airport, Ankara, to Trabzon Airport. There were 162 passengers and 6 crew on board. The aircraft landed at 23:26 local time. After landing, the aircraft veered left, departed the runway, and slid down a cliff. The aircraft came to rest in a precarious position along the side of the cliff but did not slip into the sea due to the ground being wet and the landing wheels stuck in the muddy ground. An emergency evacuation was ordered by the cabin crew. The aircraft sustained considerable damage, with the right engine detaching and falling into the Black Sea. At the time, it was raining with visibility of. Following the accident, Trabzon Airport was closed until 08:00 local time on 14 January. The aircraft was removed from the cliff face on 18 January. During the recovery operation, Trabzon Airport was closed, with aircraft being diverted to Ordu–Giresun Airport, Gülyalı. The aircraft was declared a write-off.

Investigation

The governor of Trabzon Province said that an investigation had been opened into the accident. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is responsible for investigating aviation accidents in Turkey.
One of the pilots claimed that an engine had a power surge, which caused the excursion via asymmetric thrust. At this time no investigation findings have been published confirming or refuting these claims.