Incident Overview

Date: Sunday 19 September 1976
Aircraft Type: Boeing 727-2F2
Owner/operator: Trk Hava Yollari – THY
Registration Number: TC-JBH
Location: near Isparta – ÿ Trkiye
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 154 / Occupants: 154
Component Affected: AircraftAircraft
Category: Accident
A Boeing 727-200 aircraft, TK452, crashed due to a misidentification of city lights as runway indicators near Isparta, Turkey. The flight, departing Istanbul-Yesilk”y Airport, was instructed to descend to FL250 to FL130, and subsequently impacted a hillside.A Boeing 727-200 aircraft, TK452, crashed due to a misidentification of city lights as runway indicators near Isparta, Turkey. The flight, departing Istanbul-Yesilk”y Airport, was instructed to descend to FL250 to FL130, and subsequently impacted a hillside.

Description

THY Flight TK452, a Boeing 727-200, was destroyed when it impacted a hillside near Isparta, Turkey. All 154 occupants were killed. The aircraft had departed Istanbul-Yesilk”y Airport, Turkey at 22:45 hours on a VFR flight to Antalya Airport. After passing the Afyon VOR, located 210 km north of Antalya, the flight crew requested a descent from FL250 to FL130. At 23:11 hours, the crew reported seeing Antalya city lights with the 4000 m long boulevard and requested a direct runway 36 approach. Descent was continued until the aircraft impacted a hillside at 3700 ft (1130 m), near the city of Isparta, located 100 km north of the destination. It appeared that the pilot mistook the lights of a highway north of Isparta for the Antalya boulevard.

Primary Cause

Misidentification of city lights as runway indicators.Misidentification of city lights as runway indicators.

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