A passenger plane skidded off the runway in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Tuesday, temporarily shutting down the airport.
The Boeing 737-800 from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, operated by Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus, skidded as it landed at Sabiha Gokcen Airport in the morning and became stuck in soft ground. All passengers were evacuated by emergency slides.
The airline said there were no deaths or injuries. Istanbul governor’s office said all 164 passengers were safely evacuated.
Storms and heavy rain have affected the city and transportation since Sunday night.
All flights out of the airport were suspended shortly before 10:00 a.m. (local time) and an airport official had said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a note halting departures and landings until 8:00 p.m.
But domestic flights began operating regularly after passengers in the aircraft were evacuated and checks were carried out at Sabiha Gokcen, an airport on the Asian side of the city, state-owned Anadolu Agency said.
Sabiha Gokcen Airport is situated on the Asian side of Turkey’s largest city, which spans two continents.
Two years ago in January 2018, another Pegasus Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway after landing at an airport in northeast Turkey, stopping just short of the Black Sea as its wheels became stuck in the mud.
Pegasus Airlines confirmed in a statement that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, flying from Ankara to Trabzon, “had a runway excursion incident”.
The 162 passengers, two pilots, and four cabin crew onboard were all unhurt, according to the airline.
Turkish news agency Dogan reported that the pilot said there was something wrong with one engine.
Video From the Crash
Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
