Passengers recall Istanbul plane skidding off runway

ISTANBUL

Passengers on an Istanbul plane recalled the moment when the plane skidded off the runway on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring 180 others.

Rumeysa Demirtas was traveling with her visually-impaired husband Seref Demirtas when the accident happened.

She told Anadolu Agency that the plane was too fast while landing.

“We hit the land, and then I felt as if we were taking off again. … We took off for the second time, falling into a pit and then I noticed how serious the situation was as the plane was shattered,” she said.

Rumeysa Demirtas said she had to pull her husband off the plane as his hipbone and shoulder were broken.

Pegasus Airlines flight PC2193 was arriving from Turkey's Aegean province of Izmir at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International Airport when it skidded off the runway while landing on Wednesday.

Three people died among the 177 passengers and six crew members.

Seref Demirtas said he initially heard of a crash, and added: “It was a very different landing from the routine ones, it was a very loud crash,” he said.

“We heard an announcement saying that we could use our phones. It was when the plane fell off into a pit,” he added.

* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur from Ankara.