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.
