Turkish THY Airlines Boeing 737 crashes at Amsterdam Schiphol airport

A Turkish Airlines (THY) Boeing 737-800 registration TC-JGE performing flight TK1951 crashed at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport at 10:30 local (09:30Z)

The plane carrying 135 passengers on a flight from Istanbul, broke in to three parts when attempting to land on Runway 36L near motorway A9.

There is a massive presence of emergency vehicles and crew on the scene, and there are reports of survivors. There are conflicting reports of casualties. Turkish Airlines officials claim no casualities.



All flights at Schipol have been suspended or cancelled.

Dutch newspaper AD has published this photo of the crash.
TC-JGE, pictured below at Schipol was delivered by Boeing on March 27, 2002. Construction number CN29789. The plane named Tekirdag after the city in Thrace in Turkey, was powered by two CFM56-7B26 engines and had a capacity of 165 passengers.

METAR about accident time:
250925Z 20010KT 4500 BR SCT007 BKN008 OVC010 04/03 Q1027 TEMPO 2500=

Weather. Wind 200 deg/10 kts, visibity 4500m in mist, scattered clouds 700 ft.,broken clouds 800 ft, overcast 1,000 ft,temp. 4 deg. C, barometric pressure 1027QnH.

Some more pictures :


Update 1 - 18:00GMT

Video from Reuters

As per officials 84 people were taken to hospitals, including 25 who were severely hurt. Six in critical condition. Nine fatalities have been confirmed. The pilot and co-pilot are among the dead.

The bodies of three crew members in the cockpit are still in the plane's wreckage, as per investigators who need to complete their investigations before taking apart the cockpit.

The passenger count has been revised to 134 which includes, rather ironically, four employees of the plane manufacturer, Boeing.

This is the second crash of a plane just near the runway, recently. The previous one being the crash of a British Airways Boeing 777 at Heathrow.

Update 2 - 01:00GMT 26-Feb-09

Turkish Airlines issued the following statement

25.02.2009
Turkish Airlines regrets to confirm that its flight Number TK 1951 from Istanbul to Amsterdam the capital of The Netherlands was involved in an accident today near the Amsterdam Airport.

The aircraft, a B737-800 was during the landing when the accident occurred, at around 10:30 a.m. local time.

At this time, after the search and rescue operations, we have 9 casualties, and 50 passengers were injured. Turkish Airlines staff has been doing everything possible to assist the emergency services and local authorities.

There were 127 passengers and 7 crew members on board Flight Number TK 1951 and we are currently confirming the details of the passenger manifest for this flight.

Turkish Airlines has established a passenger information centre, and a toll-free number is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board Flight Number TK 1951. The phone number is: 0800 219 80 35. For those who are calling from outside Turkey, please call + 90 212 465 21 60.

Turkish Airlines will release further information as soon as it is available. Updated information will also be posted on the Turkish Airlines’ website, at www.thy.com

Update 3 - 17:00GMT 26-Feb-09

Turkish Airlines refutes speculation on reasons for crash.