Plane accident prevented last minute at Istanbul airport

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet Photo

An accident at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen airport was prevented at the last minute when a passenger plane pilot flying from the southern province of Gaziantep to Istanbul realized there was another aircraft on the runway just 30 seconds before landing, daily Milliyet reported today.  

The incident reportedly happened late on Monday when airport staff, who had forgotten to carry their walkie talkies, failed to inform air traffic control while transporting another plane for maintenance work.

The passenger plane was permitted to land by the control team, who were unaware of the other aircraft on the runway. The pilot of the passenger plane saw the other plane at the last minute, before carefully lifting his plane again.  

If the pilot had noticed the other plane just 20 to 30 seconds later an accident would have been inescapable, reports said.  

An investigation has been launched into the incident.