Date: April 7, 1999
Type: 737-4Q8
Registration: TC-JEP
Operator: THY
Where: Adana, Turkey
Report No.: Not Available
Report Date: -
Pages: -

This is not an accident investigation report.

ADANA, Turkey -- A Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 plane crashed in southeastern Turkey, killing all six crew members, the airline said. No passengers were aboard.

The plane became engulfed in fire shortly after take-off and crashed into a field outside the town of Ceyhan, about 25 miles east of Adana, according to the Anatolia news agency quoting eyewitnesses.

No passengers were on board, it said. The plane took off from Adana airport bound for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, but disappeared off radar screens shortly after taking off and went down near the town of Ceyhan, some 40 km (25 miles) from Adana.

Paramilitary police later found the wreckage spread over a 500 square metre (yard) area. The plane had gouged a hole in the ground 10 metres (30 feet) deep.

The jetliner was en route to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to bring back Turkish pilgrims visiting Muslim holy cities.

Mehmet Oklu, local governor of the town of Ceyhan, said the wreckage was found about 550 yards away from residential areas.

Authorities were searching the plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, the so-called black boxes, to determine the cause of the crash.