'A miracle more didn't die' as pilots killed but 125 survive plane crash

Published on Wednesday 25 February 2009 22:15

THREE pilots were among nine people killed when an aircraft with 134 passengers and crew on board crashed as it prepared to land at one of Europe's busiest airports.

A muddy field which cushioned the impact is thought to have limited the death toll.

The Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 from Istanbul broke into three parts after coming down close to a road, two miles north of Amsterdam Schiphol airport yesterday.

There were reports the twin-engine jet had run out of fuel, but pilots' groups said regulations required passenger aircraft to carry ample reserves.

A farmer was reported as saying the aircraft had hit a tree as it descended.

Alistair Rosenschein, a former Boeing pilot, said: "It should have been at 600ft at that point, if it was two miles short."

The tail section of the fuselage was ripped off in the crash, just after 9:30am British time, and there was a wide crack just behind the cockpit.

The two pilots and a trainee pilot on board flight TK1951 were among those killed, while 84 people were taken to hospital, 25 of them with serious injuries. Six were in a critical condition. At least four Americans, who work for the plane's manufacturer Boeing, were on the plane.

Selahattin Alpar, the Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands, said there were 72 Turks and 32 Dutch people among those on board.

Binali Yildirim, the Turkish transport minister, said it was "a miracle" there were not more casualties. He said: "The fact the plane landed on a soft surface and the fact that there was no fire helped keep the number of fatalities low."

Aviation experts believe the muddy field would have absorbed much of the impact of the crash and helped prevent the ruptured fuel tanks catching fire.

Candan Karlitekin, the head of the airline's board of directors, said visibility had been good at the time of crash at Europe's fifth busiest airports, which has six runways. He said: "Visibility was clear and around 5,000 yards. Some 550 yards before landing, the plane landed on a field instead of the runway.

"We have checked the plane's documents and there is no problem concerning maintenance."

The crash caused delays of several hours for passengers flying between Amsterdam and Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

The aircraft, of a type popular with airlines such as Ryanair, was seven years old. It had undergone maintenance two months ago.

Bill Voss, the president of the Flight Safety Foundation in the United States, said the Boeing 737-800, which was launched 12 years ago, had a very good safety record. He said: "It has been involved in a couple of accidents, but nothing that relates directly to the aircraft."

Mr Voss said the aircraft had one of the best flight data recorders, which should give investigators a rich source of information about the crash.

The crash was the 11th accident involving the airline in the past 20 years. The foundation said the carrier had a troubled safety record in the 1970s.

Click here to watch a slideshow of images from the crash