The Pegasus Airways passenger plane that skid off the runway at the Trabzon Airport earlier this month may be turned into a public library, according to a report by the İhlas news agency. Late on Jan. 13, the plane slid off the runway down an embankment, coming within meters of plunging into the Black Sea. Miraculously, no one among the 162 passengers or six crew members was injured.
Local authorities have launched an investigation into what caused the plane to skid off the runaway. Turkish media said the pilots told investigators that the plane's right engine experienced a sudden surge of speed that forced it to swerve to the left, toward the sea. The two airports located in Trabzon and Ordu on the Black Sea coast were built on reclaimed land from the sea.
"We stayed inside the plane for at least 20 minutes waiting for someone to help us," said Fatma Gördü, one of the passengers. She said they first heard a loud noise and then the plane started "shaking" a short while after the plane landed and was advancing on the runway. "It then swung to one side and back of the plane moved upward. There was panic, people were screaming," she said, describing the moments of horror.
Gördü said they were instructed to leave the plane by a back exit but people were so panicked that they were crushing each other. Meanwhile, Yüksel Gördü, another passenger said it was "a miracle" that they survived. "The plane could have caught fire or fell into the sea. I thank God it didn't. I feel like going crazy whenever I think about those moments," he said.
The plane was lifted off on Jan. 18. Once it was back on the runway, it was emptied of remaining fuel, taken to a hanger, where the baggage and personal possessions of the passengers will finally be removed.
Trabzon Mayor Orhan Fevzi Gümrükçüoğlu said they had asked Pegasus Airways Chairman of the Board Ali Sabancı, a scion of one of the richest families in the country, and the company's general manager, Mehmet Tevfik Nane, to gift the plane to the municipality so that it could be transformed into a library. He said they will do everything in their power to keep the plane in Trabzon. "Keeping it here will also erase the bad memories attached to the plane."
The mayor said the initial response from Sabancı was positive. "However, they told us that the plane was a rental and that insurance companies were also involved into matter. They said they would do their best to ensure the plane didn't leave the province and will get back to us."
