All 56 passengers and crew are feared lost following this morning”s incident involving a Atlasjet Airlines MD-83 aircraft in Turkey.
Flight KK4203 operating from Istanbul”s Ataturk airport to Isparta in southern Turkey, was on final approach to the arrival airport when communication was apparently lost.
Due to the mountainous terrain, rescue teams had difficulty in locating the aircraft, but wreckage of the MD-83 was found at 06:15 this morning on a 5,000ft (1,520m) mountainside.
The aircraft - leased from World Focus Airlines and carrying 49 passengers, two pilots, four cabin crew and one technician ” left Istanbul at 00:50 today, some 90min behind schedule due to the late arrival from Pristina.
Weather is reported as being clear with a moonlit night and contact was maintained with the aircraft right up until its arrival near Isparta, when communication was abruptly lost.
Helicopter rescue teams are not reporting any signs of life from the downed aircraft, while teams from the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Turkish Air Force and the police, are all involved with determining the incident”s cause.
An Atlasjet Airlines aircraft is en route today to Isparta carrying airline staff and passenger relatives.