A Boeing 737-800 of Turkey鈥檚 Pegasus Airlines after skidding off the runway downhill towards the sea at the airport in Trabzon, Turkey, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018. Trabzon Gov. Yucel Yavuz said all 162 passengers and crew on board were evacuated and safe early Sunday. The cause of the accident was not yet known. AP)
ISTANBUL, Turkey 鈥� A commercial airplane that skidded off a runway after landing in northern Turkey dangled precariously Sunday off a muddy cliff with its nose only a few feet from the Black Sea.
Some of the 168 people on board the Boeing 737-800 described it as a 鈥渕iracle鈥� that everyone was evacuated safely from the plane, which went off a runway at Trabzon Airport.
Images show the aircraft on its belly and perched at an acute angle just above the water. If it had slid any further along the slope, the plane would have likely plunged into the sea in the Turkish province of Trabzon.
Pegasus Airlines said no one was injured during the incident late Saturday, despite the panic among the 162 passengers on board Flight PC8622. The six-member crew, including two pilots, was also evacuated. Flights were suspended at Trabzon Airport for several hours before resuming again Sunday.
Passenger Yuksel Gordu told Turkey鈥檚 official Anadolu news agency that words weren鈥檛 enough to describe the fear on the aircraft.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a miracle we escaped. We could have burned, exploded, flown into the sea,鈥� Gordu said. 鈥淭hank God for this. I feel like I鈥檓 going crazy when I think about it.鈥�
Another passenger, Fatma Gordu, told private Dogan news agency that there was a loud sound after landing.
鈥淲e swerved all of a sudden,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he front of the plane crashed and the back was in the air. Everyone panicked.鈥�
Trabzon Gov. Yucel Yavuz said investigators were trying to determine why the plane had left the runway. The prosecutor鈥檚 office launched an investigation.
The flight originated in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
Airport officials would not discuss the status of plane Sunday and whether it had been towed off the slope. /cbb