Engine failure may have caused plane crash in Amsterdam

Dutch investigators said yesterday that the plane fell almost vertically to the ground, leaving only a short trail in the muddy field where it went down.

They are continuing to probe the crash site for more clues. The sudden drop indicates the aircraft did not have enough forward thrust when it plummeted, a spokesperson for the Dutch Safety Board said, but the reasons for that were still unclear.

A passenger plane operated by THY carrying 134 people onboard crashed in a muddy field on Wednesday while approaching Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, killing nine and injuring dozens others. The plane smashed into three pieces. Officials said five of those killed were Turkish and four were Americans.

Theo Weterings, mayor of nearby Haarlemmermeer, said the plane was carrying 135 passengers and crew, not 134 as previously believed. No immediate information was available about the condition of the 135th person aboard the plane.

Chief investigator Pieter Van Vollenhoven stated on Thursday that the Boeing 737-800 had fallen almost directly from the sky, which pointed toward the plane’s engines having stopped. He said the reason for the possible engine failure had not yet been established.

Several survivors of the Turkish Airlines passenger plane that crashed in Amsterdam on Wednesday, killing nine and injuring dozens others, made it out of the plane unaided.

A group of experts was tasked with looking into the cause of the crash. Spokeswoman Sandra Groenendal of the Dutch Safety Board confirmed Van Vollenhoven’s remarks, adding that engine failure was still only “one of the possible scenarios” for the crash.

The cockpit recorder device and the flight data recorder, vital tools for establishing the probable cause of the accident included in the plane’s “black box,” were sent to a center in Paris for analysis. Van Vollenhoven said a preliminary finding on the plane’s flight data recorders would probably not made until next week.

“We hope to have a firmer grip as soon as possible,” he said, adding that the information retrieved from the recorders was of high quality.

Investigators will explore a wide range of possible causes, from weather-related factors to insufficient fuel, navigational error, pilot fatigue or bird strikes. There were claims that a less experienced pilot was in control of the plane as it was about to land, a claim later dismissed by THY officials, who said the less experienced pilot was accompanied by two experienced partners who could have taken control of the plane in the event of an emergency. THY Chairman Temel Kotil said the captain, Hasan Tahsin Arısan, was an experienced former air force pilot.

There were also reports that the plane had technical problems in the days before the accident. THY released a written statement yesterday denying the claims. “The plane underwent regular technical maintenance in accordance with procedures. It was not allowed to fly on Feb. 23 after its pilot informed officials about a problem in the master caution light of the plane. The plane had eight successful flights after the light was changed,” the statement read.

THY previously announced that the plane was cleared for all flights through the end of 2009.

The head of Turkey’s civilian aviation authority, Ali Arıduru, complained that news reports circulating in the foreign press were aimed at damaging THY’s reputation. He lashed out at newspapers that claimed that the plane may have crashed after it ran out of fuel. “Turkey and THY are being degraded out of commercial concerns,” he said, adding the aviation experts were making comments about the probable causes of the crash and considering the worst possibilities.

The Boeing Company announced yesterday that two of four Americans who were killed in the accident were its employees. Another Boeing employee has been hospitalized and is receiving treatment.

Dutch investigators stated yesterday that the Turkish plane that crashed in Amsterdam on Wednesday fell almost vertically to the ground, leaving only a short trail in the muddy field where it went down.

In the meantime, one of the survivors of the plane crash, whose name was not released, claimed that one of the pilots, Murat Sezer, was alive for at least 40 minutes following the accident. “The crash lasted a few seconds. Five or six police officers arrived at the scene in 10 minutes. They did not help anyone. They only took security measures. The pilot was still alive then. He asked me for help. Rescue teams arrived in 40 minutes or so. The pilot was still alive. The teams, however, did not do anything, saying it was a criminal situation. If they had helped the pilot, he could be alive now,” he said.

Survivors of crash reunited with families

A group of passengers who escaped Wednesday’s accident with minor injuries were reunited with their families on Thursday evening. The passengers, who were brought to Turkey by another THY plane, expressed happiness about being able to see their loved ones again.

“I did not think that the plane would crash. Everything was only within seconds. When I opened my eyes, we were in the middle of a field,” said Mustafa Mermer.

Another survivor of the accident, Mustafa Atman, said he did not believe he would survive after the crash. “I woke up with a great noise. I thought we had a tough landing, but we were in the middle of a field,” he said.

The mother of passenger Ahmet Peynircioğlu said her son gave her a phone call soon after the crash. “He said their plane crashed, but he was fine. Then we lost contact. I immediately left for Amsterdam. He is currently in Leiden Hospital. Our pain is great,” she noted.