Turkish Airlines Flight TK-1878 Makes A Hard Landing

durt · #1 ● 04-26-2015, 11:34 AM

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration TC-JPE, operating as Flight TK-1878 from Milan Malpensa, Italy, to Istanbul, Turkey, experienced a significant incident upon landing at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. The aircraft, carrying 97 passengers, encountered difficulties during its landing on runway 05 at approximately 10:22 local time (07:22Z).

As the plane was about to touch down, it rolled sharply to the right, causing the right engine and wing to make contact with the runway, resulting in a hard touchdown. The crew promptly initiated a go-around and declared an emergency due to the inoperability of the V2527 engine. They also reported an issue with the landing gear.

The aircraft prepared for an emergency landing on runway 35L. Approximately 20 minutes after the go-around, the plane landed, but with its right main gear collapsed. It skidded along the runway on its right engine, emitting sparks and smoke, and eventually veered off the runway, spinning nearly 180 degrees.

An emergency evacuation was conducted using the aircraft's slides, with emergency services quickly responding and spraying the aircraft. Remarkably, there were no injuries reported, although the aircraft sustained substantial damage to the right main gear, the right engine and its pylon, as well as to the high lift devices on the right wing.

Turkish Airlines confirmed the off-runway incident during the emergency landing, noting that all 97 passengers were safely evacuated without injuries.

A passenger recounted that the initial approach to Ataturk Airport was uneventful until the aircraft, at about 100 feet above ground level, rolled dramatically to the right and descended abruptly onto the runway. During the second approach, concerns of a fire were raised by another passenger. The cabin crew instructed passengers to brace for landing, which was smoother but accompanied by scraping sounds on the right side. The passenger noted that the gear collapse was not immediately apparent until the aircraft slowed significantly and began veering to the right.

After the evacuation, passengers were directed to various exits, including the left forward and right rear doors. When the right hand overwing exits were opened, foam from the fire engines entered the cabin. Within five minutes of landing, buses arrived to transport passengers to the terminal.