'Surge in engine speed' caused Boeing 737 with 162 passengers to skid off Turkish runway, say pilots

A passenger plane which was left dangling off a cliff after skidding from a Turkish runway experienced a surge of speed in one of its engines, according to reports.

Pilots told investigators that the plane swerved to the left after the surge hit the right engine.

The Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800, with 168 people on board, went off the runway at Trabzon Airport, northern Turkey, late on Saturday, stopping at an acute angle only a few feet away from the Black Sea.

All passengers and crew aboard the Turkish service were evacuated and no-one was injured.

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The Dogan news agency said pilots told investigators that the plane landed normally but that the engine’s sudden increase in speed caused them to lose control.

Authorities at Trabzon Airport are making preparations to tow the plane off the slope.

The commercial aeroplane was left dangling precariously off a muddy cliff with its nose only a few feet from the Black Sea.

Some of the people on board described it as a “miracle” that everyone was evacuated safely from the plane.

Images showed the aircraft on its belly and perched at an acute angle just above the water.

If it had slid any further along the slope, the plane would have likely plunged into the sea.

Pegasus Airlines said no one was injured during the incident despite the panic among the 162 passengers on board Flight.

The six-member crew, including two pilots, was also evacuated.

Flights were suspended at Trabzon Airport for several hours before resuming again on Sunday.

Passenger Yuksel Gordu told Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency that words were not enough to describe the fear on the aircraft.

“It’s a miracle we escaped. We could have burned, exploded, flown into the sea,” Gordu said.

“Thank God for this. I feel like I’m going crazy when I think about it.”

Another passenger, Fatma Gordu, told the private Dogan news agency that there was a loud sound after landing.

“We swerved all of a sudden,” she said.

“The front of the plane crashed and the back was in the air. Everyone panicked.”