’Plane was losing altitude fast’

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Flight TK1951 from Istanbul crashed about 1.5 kilometers short of the runway at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Wednesday morning. It was carrying a total of 135 people, including passengers and crew.

The De Telegraaf report, based on radar data from the control tower, said the plane should have descended between 213 to 244 meters per minute, but went down much faster, at 410 meters per minute. The radar also showed the plane was travelling much slower than it was supposed to be. The investigation would center on why the plane’s fast descent and its speed and why the pilots could not address these problems, the daily reported.

It was also reported yesterday that wreckage could not be removed before tomorrow because the onsite investigation was continuing. The spokesman for the investigative team said the first analysis relating to the crash would be made Wednesday. The funerals of the four flight personnel, including the three pilots, took place Saturday. The pilots were declared heroes by their associates, with Transportation Ministry Undersecretary Mehmet Habip Soluk saying the pilots had died while ensuring 126 passengers survived.

The only Turkish passenger who died in the crash, Bülent İçgören, was laid to rest yesterday. Four U.S. citizens also died in the crash. Boeing released a statement Friday stating that three of its employees had died and another was injured.