Plane in Turkey overshoots icy runway, stops on side of Black Sea cliff

A commercial jet carrying 168 people overshot an icy airstrip in Turkey.

ByABC News
January 15, 2018, 2:40 AM

— -- A commercial jet carrying 168 people overshot an icy airstrip in northern Turkey on Saturday, getting wedged on a cliff just feet from the Black Sea.

Despite the horrifying image of the Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 seen teetering over a muddy cliff at Ankara-Tabzon Airport, all 162 passengers, two pilots, and four cabin crew were unharmed and were freed from its fuselage, the airline confirmed in a statement.

The site of accident where a Pegasus Airlines airplane skidded off the runway at Trabzon airport by the Black Sea in Trabzon, Turkey is pictured Jan. 14, 2018.
Xinhua via Newscom

The plane came dangerously close to going into the Black Sea.

Afterward, the airport shut down operations until Sunday morning, and a probe was launched to figure out why the plane skidded off the runway, Trabzon Gov. Yucel Yavuz told Reuters.

A Boeing 737-800 of Turkey's Pegasus Airlines is pictured after skidding off the runway downhill towards the sea at the airport in Trabzon, Turkey, Jan. 14, 2018.
HA-Depo Photos via AP

Local prosecutors questioned four crew members and two pilots in the wake of the incident, authorities said. They said there were no signs of alcohol in the pilots’ systems.

The senior pilot on board told prosecutors that the plane’s right engine had suddenly started to speed up during the landing process, which pushed the plane toward the sea, authorities said. That pilot said he had handed control of the plane to his co-pilot after the plane touched down, before the engine sped up, authorities said.

Accounts from passengers on the plane appeared to confirm the pilot's testimony, officials said.

A Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane sits on a cliff after skidding off the runway at Trabzon's airport on the Black Sea coast in Turkey, Jan. 14, 2018.
IHLAS NEWS AGENCY/AFP/Getty Images

The investigation is ongoing and officials said they were still working to access the plane’s black boxes.

Pegasus said it would provide further updates when more information is available.

ABC News' Engin Bas contributed to this report from Lesbos, Greece.