Turkish plane makes emergency landing over engine fire

ANKARA

DHA photo

A Turkish Airlines plane bound for Milan made an emergency landing at Istanbul on April 25 after one its engines caught fire. 

All passengers and members of the crew were immediately evacuated after the Airbus 320 landed safely at Istanbul's Ataturk airport, Doğan News Agency reported. Turkey’s state-run TRT television showed the plane landing at Atatürk Airport, leaving a trail of sparks and smoke behind it.

"All 97 passengers have been taken to the terminal with no health issues. The reason for the incident will become clear after the investigation," Turkish Airlines spokesman Ali Genç wrote on Twitter.

One passenger said after the evavuation that oxgen masks were on and they experienced a 10 to 15 minutes panic on board after the emergeny announcement. 

Firefighters quickly moved in and extinguished the fire.

It was not clear whether the plane had caught fire as it landed or mid-air.

TRT said no one was hurt during the landing.

It was the latest in a string of such incidents in recent weeks that have forced Turkey's national flag-carrier to make emergency landings or divert flights.  

The NTV broadcast conversations between the control tower and the plane revealing that the pilot remained calm throughout the emergency.

Atatürk International Airport, the country's main hub, was temporarily closed due to the incident and planes were diverted to Sabiha Gokçen Airport on the Asian side of the city.

Doğan news agency said the same plane's cockpit window had shattered on April 23 during a flight from the German city of Frankfurt to Istanbul and the plane was given permission to fly out after the window was changed.

Earlier this month a Turkish Airlines passenger jet flying from the German city of Duesseldorf to Istanbul was forced to make an emergency landing in Nuremberg after a crack was discovered in the cockpit window.