Plane Crash Near Isparta: 57 Dead

The Atlasjet flight No. 4203, which took off at 00.51 in Istanbul and was flying to Isparta, could not be contacted again after 01:36. It emerged that the plane crashed near the Cukurören village in the Keciborlu district of Isparta.

Doganer: No survivors 

According to the Ntvmsnbc news website, company representative Tuncay Doganer said that the accident site had been reached, but that there had been no survivors.

Doganer said that both the plane and the pilots had been hired from the Worldfocus Airlines; he stated that the pilots were experienced and that there could be no question of lack of sleep.

Yildirim: Nothing unusual before contact seized 

Minister of Transport Binali Yildirim made a statement in the early morning, confirming that there was no sign of life at the acciden tsite and that the black box would reveal the reason for the accident.

He said, "There was nothing unusual in the communication with the Isparta control tower. The necessary reports were made at the necessary times; after it was said that the landing strip was visible and that the plane would descend for landing, contact was interrupted and the accident happened."

The General Directorate of Civilian Aviation said that weather conditions were clear and that the wind was calm.

Uzun: "We are saddened" 

According to Cnnturk news, Isparta Governor Semsettin Uzun said, "We have flown over the accident site by helicopter. All the ambulanses are there. It is not possible to understand how the plane landed there. [...] It is a treelined and rocky area. The plane is in a terrible state. We are saddened. That area was not the normal area over which the plane passed. We were told at 3 am that contact with the plane had seized. They had seen the plane from the towers and had even given the weather report. Permission to land had been given. The plane was going to turn over Burdur. And there an incoherence happened."

The governor said that the front half of the plane's body was still in one piece, but that the wings were gone: "We are going to the area by road to be with our citizens."

After the accident site was identified, relatives of the passengers and villagers from nearby villages started coming to the area. When the crowd made it too difficult to collect the bodies, the gendarmerie started to clear the area.

The crew members on board were captain pilot Ferhat Özdemir, second pilot Fahir Aksoy, cabin supervisor Cagatay Sirin, stewardesses Mana Topcu, Sinem Hatice Vurgul, and Mümine Bulut, and technician Alaattin Gürtürk.

The passengers were:

Özlem Karatas, Nuri Tigli, Bahri Öndürücü, M.Rafi Taskent, Muhsin Öndürücü, Sakir Özsoy, Kasim Muhammet Saygili, Perihan Kutlu, Sinem Kutlu, Aysun Fatime Balci, Mustafa Zengi, Davut Demirkurt, Hayri Tokgöz, Tevfik Büyükcayli, Mehmet Yigitbasi, Zeliha Yigitbasi, Özgen Berkol Dogan, Engin Abat, Engin Arik, Sibel Uysal, Mehmet Yilmaz, Necati Kartal, Saniye Kartal, Hakan Ulutas, Iskender Hikmet, Senel Fatma Boydag, Fahrettin Ogurlu, Özcan Ogurlu, Hakan Yakup Tullu, Alp Tezcan, Oguz Cafer Ciftci, Yusuf Ciftci, Nazire Kurnaz, Gözen Polat, Mustafa Fidan, Dogan Göktaş, Hazal Kaynak, Isa Cobankaya, Saniye Cobankaya, Yasar Çobankaya, Burhan Tepebasi, Ruşen Mustafa Hamza Hemreli, Fuat Güler, Mustafa Caliskan, Kenan Büyük, Süleyman Hilal, Ayse Cantürk, Melike Ceylan, Ceren Ceylan, Sadettin Baysal. (TK/NZ/AG)