1972 Adana Turkish Airlines DC-9 crash

1972 aviation accident in Turkey

1972 Adana Turkish Airlines DC-9 crash
Accident
TC-JAC, the aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 1970
Date	21 January 1972
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	Near Adana Airport, Turkey 36°58′08″N 35°16′39″E / 36.96881°N 35.27762°E / 36.96881; 35.27762
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32
Aircraft name	Marmara
Operator	Turkish Airlines
Registration	TC-JAC
Flight origin	Kandara Airport
Stopover	Damascus Airport
Destination	Ankara Esenboğa Airport (ESB/LTAC)
Occupants	5
Crew	5
Fatalities	1
Injuries	3
Survivors	4

On 21 January 1972, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 registered as TC-JAC operated by Turkish Airlines crashed on approach while trying to make an emergency landing at Adana Airport. The aircraft was en-route from Kandara Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Ankara Esenboğa Airport with a stopover at Damascus Airport with only five crew members on board after carrying passengers to Hajj the day before.

After taking off from Damascus for the second leg of the flight, the plane had a cabin pressurization problem and attempted to divert to Adana. The aircraft had a go-around in its first landing attempt due to poor visibility. During the second attempt, the plane flew too low and crashed in a field 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away from the airport, and subsequently caught fire. One of the five crew members died in the flames, while three others were injured.

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 with serial number 47213/358, registered as TC-JAC and named Marmara after the region of Marmara; its first flight was in 1968. Two days prior to the crash, on 19 January, the plane carried the 13th Prime Minister of Turkey Nihat Erim and a delegation from Ankara to France, and was due to bring them back later on the accident day. Before the prime minister boarded the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, it underwent an "extensive technical control" and its interior was searched for explosives with detectors.

On board the flight deck were captain Mahzar İpek, aged 46, and co-pilot Celâlettin Yeprem, aged 51. Both had been flying with the airline for 15 years, after leaving the Turkish Air Force in 1957. There were three cabin crew members: Nilgün Dener, Selva Aksöyek and Hülya Maviler. Maviler had also been a crew member on a Turkish Airlines flight that was hijacked to Sofia in September 1969.

Accident

The aircraft was returning without passengers from Jeddah after carrying people to Hajj. The aircraft took off from Damascus and headed for Ankara. The pilots reported to controllers that they were having problems with cabin pressurization and diverted to Adana Airport for an emergency landing. It was snowing at the time of the accident, a condition which was rare for Adana. Due to the poor visibility, the pilots initiated a go-around after failing to see the runway. During the second approach, the aircraft was too low on altitude and struck the ground at 4:24 local time, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away from the airport. The plane lost its landing gear and slid a short distance before catching fire.

Wreckage and recovery

The wreckage was located in a field near the Sarıhuğlar village close to the airport. Cabin crew member Hülya Maviler was killed in the fire that started after impact, while co-pilot Celâlettin Yeprem was taken out of the aircraft in a critical condition. Nilgün Dener, located at the rear of the aircraft, survived without any injuries and helped fellow crew members near the cockpit to evacuate. Maviler was seated at the center of the cabin and could not be reached by first responders. She was trying to escape to the rear of the aircraft but was surrounded by the smoke; her burnt body was removed from between seats. Her funeral was held in Istanbul the day after the crash. The crash is the sole fatal McDonnell Douglas DC-9 accident involving Turkish Airlines.

Cause and aftermath

While being treated at the hospital, captain Mahzar İpek said that they had lost all communications with the airport and that they decided to make an emergency landing in an area that seemed to be flat.

In 1975, Gündüz Sevilgen, a member of the 15th Parliament of Turkey from the National Salvation Party, wrote several questions to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey related to Turkish Airlines, including the causes of accidents. He received a response from the Minister of Transport, Sabahattin Özbek, on 18 March. The response included a short list of causes of all Turkish Airlines crashes to date. The cause for the Adana crash in the response was:

Not adhering to IFR limits by attempting to approach and land visually in a misty and cloudy weather.

According to a Hürriyet article from 1999, the pressurization failure was due to a wiring malfunction. In 2020, Sözcü reported that they could not find any record of the pilots being prosecuted over the death of Hülya Maviler.

References

Citations

"TC-JAC | ASN accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
^ "Bir Uçak Adana'da Düştü" [A Plane Crashed in Adana]. Milliyet (in Turkish). 22 January 1972. p. 1.
^ "Bir Uçak Adana'da Düştü" [A Plane Crashed in Adana]. Milliyet (in Turkish). 22 January 1972. p. 8.
^ Gök 2018, p. 72.
^ "Crash of a Douglas DC-9-32 in Adana: 1 Killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
^ "1972'deki kazanın kopyası" [Replica of the accident in 1972]. Hürriyet (in Turkish). 9 April 1999. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
"Maviler Toprağa Verildi" [Maviler was Buried]. Milliyet (in Turkish). 23 January 1972. p. 1.
TBMM 1975, p. 106.
^ TBMM 1975, p. 110.
Demir, Yusuf (10 February 2020). "Türkiye'nin gündemine oturan pilot SÖZCÜ'ye konuştu: O mücadeleyi kazandık" [The pilot, who is on Turkey's agenda, spoke to SÖZCÜ: We won that fight]. Sözcü (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2022.

Bibliography

TBMM (March 1975). "Manisa Milletvekili M. Gündüz Sevilgen'in, Türk Hava Yollan Genel Müdürlüğü Teşkilâtı Personeline ve Uçak Kazalarına İlişkin Sorusu ve Ulaştırma Bakanı Sabahattin Özbek'in Yazılı Cevabı" [Manisa Deputy M. Gündüz Sevilgen's Question Regarding Turkish Airlines General Directorate Organization Personnel and Aircraft Accidents and Written Answer of the Minister of Transport Sabahattin Özbek] (PDF). National Assembly Minutes Journal (in Turkish). 11. Grand National Assembly of Turkey: 106–111. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
Gök, Kerem (2018). Uçak Kazaları: Türk Sivil Havacılık Tarihine Damgasını Vuran Kazalar [Aircraft Accidents: Accidents That Left Their Mark on Turkish Civil Aviation History] (in Turkish) (First ed.). Ankara: Kanon Kitap. ISBN 9786056864414.

External links

Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 family

Civil/Commercial

DC-9
- -80/81/82/83/87/88

Boeing 717

Military

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Topics

Operators
- MD-80
- MD-90
- Boeing 717

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1972 (1972)
Jan 7 Iberia Flight 602Jan 21 Turkish Airlines DC-9 crashJan 26 JAT Yugoslav Flight 367Feb 22 Lufthansa Flight 649Mar 3 Mohawk Airlines Flight 405Mar 14 Sterling Airways Flight 296Mar 19 EgyptAir Flight 763Apr 18 East African Airways Flight 720May 4 Aeroflot Flight B-608May 5 Alitalia Flight 112May 8 Sabena Flight 571May 16 Svetlogorsk An-24 crashMay 18 Aeroflot Flight 1491May 30 Delta Air Lines Flight 9570Jun 12 American Airlines Flight 96Jun 14 Japan Air Lines Flight 471Jun 15 Cathay Pacific Flight 700ZJun 18 British European Airways Flight 548Jun 24 Prinair Flight 191Jun 29 Lake Winnebago mid-air collisionJul 2 Pan Am Flight 841Jul 5 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710Jul 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 841Aug 14 Königs Wusterhausen disasterAug 16 Burma Airways Thandwe crashAug 31 Aeroflot Flight 558Sep 15 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130Sep 24 Japan Air Lines Flight 472Sep 24 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accidentOct 1 Aeroflot Flight 1036Oct 13 Aeroflot Flight 217Oct 13 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571Oct 27 Air Inter Flight 696YOct 29 Lufthansa Flight 615Oct 30 Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 327Nov 10 Southern Airways Flight 49Nov 15 Ansett Australia Flight 232Nov 28 Japan Air Lines Flight 446Dec 3 Tenerife Spantax Convair CV-990 crashDec 8 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708Dec 8 United Air Lines Flight 553Dec 8 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631Dec 20 Chicago–O'Hare runway collisionDec 23 Braathens Flight 239Dec 29 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401Dec 31 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash
1971 ◄ ► 1973

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1972 (1972)

Jan 7 Iberia Flight 602Jan 21 Turkish Airlines DC-9 crashJan 26 JAT Yugoslav Flight 367Feb 22 Lufthansa Flight 649Mar 3 Mohawk Airlines Flight 405Mar 14 Sterling Airways Flight 296Mar 19 EgyptAir Flight 763Apr 18 East African Airways Flight 720May 4 Aeroflot Flight B-608May 5 Alitalia Flight 112May 8 Sabena Flight 571May 16 Svetlogorsk An-24 crashMay 18 Aeroflot Flight 1491May 30 Delta Air Lines Flight 9570Jun 12 American Airlines Flight 96Jun 14 Japan Air Lines Flight 471Jun 15 Cathay Pacific Flight 700ZJun 18 British European Airways Flight 548Jun 24 Prinair Flight 191Jun 29 Lake Winnebago mid-air collisionJul 2 Pan Am Flight 841Jul 5 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 710Jul 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 841Aug 14 Königs Wusterhausen disasterAug 16 Burma Airways Thandwe crashAug 31 Aeroflot Flight 558Sep 15 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130Sep 24 Japan Air Lines Flight 472Sep 24 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accidentOct 1 Aeroflot Flight 1036Oct 13 Aeroflot Flight 217Oct 13 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571Oct 27 Air Inter Flight 696YOct 29 Lufthansa Flight 615Oct 30 Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 327Nov 10 Southern Airways Flight 49Nov 15 Ansett Australia Flight 232Nov 28 Japan Air Lines Flight 446Dec 3 Tenerife Spantax Convair CV-990 crashDec 8 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 708Dec 8 United Air Lines Flight 553Dec 8 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 631Dec 20 Chicago–O'Hare runway collisionDec 23 Braathens Flight 239Dec 29 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401Dec 31 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash

1971 ◄ ► 1973

v t e Turkish Airlines
Passenger airlines	Turkish Airlines AJet SunExpress Air Albania
Cargo airlines	Turkish Cargo We World Express
Non-airline subsidiaries	Turkish DO & CO Turkish Technic Turkish Ground Services Turkish Airlines Flight Academy TSI Aviation Seats Turkish Opet
Assets	Istanbul Airport (hub) Aydın Airport Services
Incidents and accidents	THY158 THY278 THY301 THY345 THY452 THY634 THY835 THY981 THY1476 THY1951 THY5904 THY6491 1959 Gatwick 1962 Taurus Mountains 1972 Adana 1979 Ankara List of hijackings
Destinations	Turkish Airlines Turkish Cargo AnadoluJet SunExpress Air Albania
Former subsidiaries and joint ventures	B&H Airlines Cyprus Turkish Airlines (defunct) SunExpress Deutschland (defunct)
People	Temel Kotil Ahmet Bolat Bilal Ekşi
Related articles	Airlines of Turkey Association of European Airlines Borajet Star Alliance Turkish Airlines fleet Deli Mike Hayal Edince
Employees: 37,670 (2020) Stock ticker: THYAO Website: Turkish Airlines Investor Relations

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Turkey
1950s	Air France Flight 152 (August 1953) Bursa airplane crash (July 1957) Air Charter Turkey crash (April 1959)
1960s	Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 871 (January 1960) Turkish Airlines Flight 835 (September 1961) British European Airways Flight 226 (December 1961) Turkish Airlines Taurus Mountains crash (March 1962) Ankara mid-air collision (February 1963)
1970s	Turkish Airlines Adana crash (January 1972) Turkish Airlines Flight 301 (January 1974) Turkish Airlines Flight 345 (January 1975) Turkish Airlines Flight 452 (September 1976) Turkish Airlines Ankara crash (December 1979)
1980s	Turkish Airlines Flight 158 (January 1983) Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782 (January 1988)
1990s	Turkish Airlines Flight 278 (December 1994) Turkish Airlines Flight 5904 (April 1999)
2000s	Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 (October 2001) Turkish Airlines Flight 634 (January 2003) Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230 (May 2003) Atlasjet Flight 4203 (November 2007) Medair Bell 206 crash (March 2009)
2010s	Turkish F-4 Phantom shootdown (June 2012) Swan Aviation Sikorsky S-76 crash (March 2017) Pegasus Airlines Flight 8622 (January 2018)
2020s	Pegasus Airlines Flight 2193 (February 2020) Turkish Air Force Eurocopter AS532 Cougar crash (March 2021)
See also: List of hijackings of Turkish airplanes

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