Pegasus Airlines Flight 8622

Flight 8622 was a scheduled domestic flight from Esenboğa International Airport, Ankara, to Trabzon Airport. There were 162 passengers and 6 crew on board. The aircraft landed at 23:26 local time (20:26 UTC). After landing, the aircraft veered left, skidded off the runway, and slid down a cliff.[1] The aircraft came to rest in a precarious position along the side of the cliff but did not slip into the sea due to the wet ground that caused the landing gear to be stuck in mud.[2] An emergency evacuation was ordered by the cabin crew.[3] The aircraft sustained considerable damage,[1] with the right engine detaching and falling into the Black Sea.[4][5] At the time, it was raining with visibility of 4 kilometres (2.5 mi).[6] Following the accident, Trabzon Airport was closed until 08:00 local time (05:00 UTC) on 14 January.[7] The aircraft was removed from the cliff face on 18 January. During the recovery operation, Trabzon Airport was closed, with aircraft being diverted to Ordu–Giresun Airport, Gülyalı.[8] The aircraft was declared a write-off.[6]

The aircraft involved; TC-CPF in 2016

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-82R, with manufacturer serial number 40879, and line number 4267. It had the registration TC-CPF, was named "Zeynep", and was operated by the Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines. The aircraft took its first flight on 15 November 2012, before being delivered to Pegasus Airlines on 30 November.[1][6] It had flown 9 flights on January 13 with no reports of any damage or issues by pilots or ground crew.[9]

The governor of Trabzon Province said that an investigation had been opened into the accident.[10] The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is responsible for investigating aviation accidents in Turkey.

One of the pilots claimed that an engine had a power surge, which caused the excursion via asymmetric thrust.[8] As of January 2020, no investigation findings had been published confirming or refuting these claims.[11]

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