A Boeing MD-83 passenger aircraft made an emergency landing in Turkey yesterday and caught fire on landing but there were reportedly no casualties.
Various news reports from Turkey say the MD-83 operated by Egyptian carrier AMC Airlines was en route from Hurghada in Egypt to Warsaw when it encountered a technical problem and the captain requested to divert to an airport in Turkey.
When it made its emergency at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, the landing gear failed which meant the underside of the aircraft fuselage scraped along the runway and the aircraft caught fire.
Reports say there were no fatalities and only one of the 163 people on board was injured but the damage to the aircraft was extensive.
According to Flight’s ACAS database AMC Airlines only has one MD-83 left in its fleet, registered as SU-BOY, and the aircraft’s owner is AWAS.
AMC is a charter operator in Egypt that mostly transports tourists to resort towns. Hurghada, the town where the MD-83 reportedly took off from, is a resort town in Egypt near the Red Sea.
The carrier used to operate more MD-83s but has recently been replacing these older aircraft with new Boeing 737-800s. In late August it received its second 737-800, an aircraft on lease from GE Commercial Aviation Services.
- Airspace forum - more pictures
Source: FlightGlobal.com
