Boeing 747-400 freighter crashed while attempting to land at Kyrgyzstan’s main airport in thick fog.
News media and intelligence reports indicate that MyCargo Airlines Boeing 747-412F registration “TC-MCL”, a freighter operating for Turkish Airlines as TK6491, crashed after a failed go-around attempt on final approach to Manas International Airport in the city of Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyz Republic.
The flight crew of four did not survive and reports indicate that 33 civilians living in the village of Dacha-Suu, approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of Manas Airport were killed on the ground as a result of the crash.
Video from the scene shows small sections of the aircraft fuselage, larger portions of the nose and parts of the rudder and elevators protruding from destroyed buildings in Dacha-Suu.
While official investigations of the cause have not yet concluded as of this early hour following the crash, U.S. news outlet CNN published, “Crew error appears to have caused the deadly crash of the Turkish cargo plane that barreled into a Kyrgyzstan village on Monday, a top Kyrgyz official told state-run news.”
CNN reported that “Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Muhammetkaly Abulgaziev drew the conclusion that ‘crew error’ had led to the crash citing preliminary information, Kyrgyzstan’s [as reported by] state-run news agency Kabar.
A conflicting official airline press release reports, “There is no clear and confirmed information about the reasons for the incident yet.”
The crash occurred at 07:31 local zone time when most residents of the village were still in their homes. Weather in the area included dense early morning fog.
The cargo flight was crewed by four flight crew and was sub-chartered to ACT Airlines by Turkish Cargo. It originated in Hong Kong and was scheduled to land later today in Istanbul, Turkey.
The flight crew onboard Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 was reported by the airline in an official statement as Captain, Lead Pilot Ibrahim Gürcan Diranci; the flight’s Co-Pilot was Kazim Önüdl. Cargo loadmaster onboard was Melih Aslan. The final crewmember on board is reported as Flight Technician Ihsan Koca.
The aircraft had a payload of 85,618 kg (188,755 lbs or 94.3 tons) as reported by the airline. The aircraft’s manufacturer, Boeing, reports maximum payload capacities as between 112,990-124,330 kg (249,100-274,100 pounds or 124.5 -137.0 tons).
Top image credit: Wiki
