A Boeing 737 operated by Pegasus Airlines was involved in a runway excursion in Istanbul. Photos from the scene show that the aircraft was evacuated via the slides. According to the airline, no injuries were sustained during the incident.

Pegasus Airlines' passengers heading from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport this morning were in for quite a surprise. Upon landing at the Turkish airport, the aircraft came off of the runway. Passengers were evacuated from the aircraft via the emergency slides. According to photos of the incident, the aircraft came to rest in soft ground to the side of the runway.

The flight affected

The flight affected by this morning’s incident was PC747, operated by a Boeing 737. Pegasus Airlines' statement said that the aircraft involved was TC-CCK. According to Planespotters, the aircraft was originally delivered to Pegasus in August 2008 as TC-AAI. In June 2016, the aircraft went to Air Mamas as EX-37802, before returning to Pegasus with this current registration in October 2018.

Data from FlightRadar24 shows that, up until the incident, the aircraft was running well. PC747 was due to depart from Sharjah at 05:25. It received a fairly timely departure, only departing the airport two minutes late. The aircraft also made up time on the flight. It had been due to touchdown at 09:30, however, it ended up landing at 09:09.

Runway excursion

Upon landing in Istanbul, the aircraft left the runway. From the pictures and data, it looks as though the aircraft slid off the left of the runway. It then became stuck in the soft ground. Photos of the incident showed the left engine looks as though it is resting on the ground, and may be damaged. Additionally, the nose wheel looks fairly well sunk into the ground.

Simple Flying reached out to a spokesperson for Pegasus airlines, and was provided with the following statement:

“The Pegasus Airlines flight PC747, on a TC-CCK registered aircraft, travelling from Sharjah International Airport, UAE, to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, Turkey, on 7 January 2020 experienced a runway excursion after landing at Istanbul  Sabiha Gökçen. All passengers and cabin crew have been disembarked safely from the aircraft.  There has been no loss of life or injury to anyone on-board.  The necessary investigations have begun and we will continue to provide information with regards to any further updates.”

Were you onboard the flight this morning? Did you witness what happened? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!