Istanbul airplane may have crashed ‘due to hydroplaning’

ISTANBUL

The cause of the plane accident at the runway at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport that killed three and injured 180 people on Feb. 5 may be hydroplaning, according to initial findings.

Water formed due to heavy rainfall on the day of the crash on the runway may have prevented the plane’s contact with the runway as the landing gear tires hit the ground.

Meanwhile, experts are examining the records about the tires.

It has also been revealed that the Indonesian second officer of the plane could not help the system because the officials at the operations tower spoke Turkish and all the conversations were held by the Turkish captain pilot.

The problems caused by the Turkish exchange will have to be reviewed by General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ), as the talks between the tower and the cockpit should have been made in English.

The captain pilot, who had fractures in his spine and ribs during the accident, could not lie face down and doctors had difficulty in attending to his spine injury.

The statement made by the captain pilot under difficult conditions has not been revealed yet.

Although it has not been confirmed yet, claims suggest that a lightning strike that hit the plane a few minutes before the landing may have caused the captain pilot to land hastily.

Meanwhile, Pegasus Airlines started to pay compensation for the passengers injured in the crash.

Reports suggest that these payments vary between $25,000-50,000 within the determined legal responsibilities.

Compensation to be paid to the relatives of passengers who lost their lives will be determined on a legal basis by an organization working on the issue.