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No survivors as Turkish jet crashes on mountain

Relatives of victims of an air disaster arrive at Istanbul airport yesterday seeking news about the passengers of a Turkish airliner that crashed in the southwestern province of Isparta in the early hours of the morning. PHOTO: AFP

An Atlasjet plane crashed on a rocky mountain shortly before it was due to land in southwest Turkey early yesterday, killing all 57 people on board. The cause was not immediately known.

Pieces of wreckage and personal belongings, including suitcases, clothing and magazines, were strewn across the hillside. The plane's fuselage lay amid boulders and pine trees.

The MD-83, carrying 50 passengers and seven crew members, took off from Istanbul around 1am headed to Isparta on a flight of about one hour, but went off the radar just before it was due to land at the airport.

Dogan news agency released a transcript of the conversation between the Atlasjet pilot and the Isparta control tower, but the exchange did not indicate the plane was in trouble.

The civil aviation authority said communication with the plane was interrupted on its final approach to Suleyman Demirel airport in Isparta at 1:45am.

Just over five hours later, a rescue helicopter reached the plane's wreckage near the village of Yesilyurt, in Isparta Province, and reported that no one had survived the crash, said Tuncay Doganer, the airline's chief executive.

Doganer ruled out technical failure and said the weather and visibility were good.

"The pilot saw the airport and informed the tower that it was inbound. The plane then disappeared," he said.

Investigators found the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, which will help them determine what happened, the civil aviation authority said.

Weeping relatives approached the crash site, but were turned away by soldiers and other officials who sought to comfort them. Many bodies were dismembered and not identifiable, firefighter Osman Emir said.

Atlasjet, a private airline established in 2001, operates regular flights inside Turkey and chartered flights to Europe and other foreign destinations.
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