Boeing to compensate victims of 2020 Istanbul crash

ISTANBUL

A court in the United States has ordered Boeing to pay compensation to the victims of a fatal accident that occurred in Istanbul four years ago.

A Pegasus Airlines passenger aircraft operating on the İzmir-Istanbul route skidded off the runway upon landing at Sabiha Gökçen Airport on Feb. 5, 2020, disintegrating into three sections. In this incident involving a Boeing 737-800, three lost their lives and 179 others sustained injuries.

The victims initiated a lawsuit in the U.S., alleging that there were defects in the automatic braking and speed reduction systems of the aircraft. Additionally, the reports indicated that a certain degree of pilot error was also evident.

Attorney Seyit Şahin, representing some of the claimants, revealed that Boeing has opted for a settlement, agreeing to provide "satisfactory compensation" to his clients, although he refrained from disclosing the exact amount.

The investigation conducted in Istanbul uncovered that six minutes before descent, the aircraft was struck by lightning, exacerbating the stress levels among the pilots. Plans were altered to land on a different runway than originally intended, according to the report.

Furthermore, the report revealed that the air traffic controller communicated the prevailing weather conditions and runway status in Turkish prior to landing. This language barrier resulted in the foreign co-pilot's inability to comprehend the announcements, thereby hindering his capacity to intervene in flight operations.

The Turkish report also said that Captain Mahmut Arslan disabled the braking system prior to landing and engaged in manual braking with a six-second delay, which ultimately failed to achieve adequate deceleration as the aircraft approached the runway's end.

Consequently, the plane plummeted from a height of 40 meters. An inspection by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation reported deficiencies in the airport's runway infrastructure.