January 13 - Pegasus #PC8622 accident, Trabzon airport - possible crosswind landing?

FIRST STATEMENT from the pilots involved in Pegasus PC8622 accident, Trabzon airport,Turkey, January 13th (via twitter.com/airporthaber):"The plane made a normal landing, but when maneuvering to exit the runway, the right engine accelerated and the plane went to the left side".  

Incident classified as: runway excursion ( when the aircraft leaves the runway without permission or intention )

An aerial video of the incident via Ihlas News Agency

Key facts:

• No injuries were reported, all 168 passengers and crew are safe
• The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800 with it's first flight in 15 nov 2012
• No apparent aircraft fault
• Airfract possibly a write-off, one of the engines fell into the sea
• The emergency evacuation proceeded in a safe and correct way
• Further investigations follow as per legislation in Turkey
  

This is the data sent by the flight recorder in real time, thanks to flightradar24:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/pc8622#101ff2ba

I will keep you posted as this appears to be a case of a crosswind plus a wet runway. The investigation will clarify and I will update this article.
This is an example of some crosswind landings:

Crosswind landing is something that is also present in the ATC Simulator I work on, and it's a natural and common phenomenon in aviation.It happens when the wind direction is not aligned to any of the available runways in use.
The pilots and controllers both prepare for this (theory and simulation) and they communicate the weather patterns and notable weather areas on the flight path to the airport, some newer planes having Doppler radars to receive weather data in real time.

An image from the simulator for your patience :)


This is not a reason for anyone to fear flying and aviation. The authorities learn from every incident or accident and are constantly improving the safety and the procedures required for each occurrence.