Turkey- 139 injured after Plane skids off runway and breaks up in Istanbul

A Pegasus Airlines plane flying into Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport skidded off the end of the wet runway and broke into three pieces after landing on Wednesday, injuring 139 people, Istanbul’s Governor said.

Ali Yerlikaya said the plane was carrying 177 passengers and six crew from the western province of Izmir. Emergency response teams took the wounded to 18 hospitals in the area, he said, and broadcaster NTV reported that both pilots were critically injured.

“The plane could not hold on the runway due to poor weather conditions and skidded for around 50-60 meters,” Yerlikaya told reporters at the airport, adding that emergency teams were trying to rescue the last wounded passenger.

The plane, a Boeing 737-86J (BA.N), split into three pieces after what Yerlikaya said was a drop of around 30 to 40 meters at the end of the wet runway. Footage showed the plane landing and continuing at a high speed off the runway.