Pegasus Airlines CEO Mehmet T. Nane said, “We are filled with profound sorrow.  The Pegasus Airlines family mourns today, deeply saddened by the tragic accident that took place following the runway excursion of our flight PC 2193 last night at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport after flying from Izmir Adnan Menderes to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Our first priority now is to heal our wounds. Our family assistance teams are currently working to support both the relatives and loved ones of our deceased guests, as well as our injured guests in hospital. We regret that there have been three fatalities as a result of the accident. A total of 174 guests and 6 cabin crew, were transferred to hospital. We are closely monitoring the condition of our injured guests as they undergo treatment in a number of hospitals. All of us at Pegasus Airlines mourn the tragic loss of all those who died.  May they rest in eternal peace. We would like to express our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to those families and friends who have lost loved ones, and we wish all our injured guests a swift recovery. We will deploy every resource we have to alleviate their pain in the aftermath of this tragic accident.”

Giving an account of the establishment of three crisis centres at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Pegasus Headquarters and Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport, Mehmet T. Nane said, “The crisis centres have been managed by our provincial governors. As the Pegasus Airlines crisis team, we held our first crisis meeting at 18:36 at the Pegasus Headquarters on 5th February 2020. Our crisis team is made up of 18 people including myself, consists of all senior management and colleagues holding different positions across all relevant departments. We made an initial crisis situation assessment and immediately put our crisis plan into action in light of the initial situation. We directed our family assistance teams to the hospitals. I then moved to the crisis desk that we established at Sabiha Gökçen Airport.”

“We are working in coordination with the public authorities”

Mehmet T. Nane said, “We are working in close coordination with all official authorities throughout this process. As you know, civil aviation is a sector whose regulations and rules are much stricter than other sectors. The official authorities step in from the moment an accident takes place. We manage the process accordingly. This includes the first statement. I know you have many questions about the cause and details of the accident. The necessary investigations have begun and are currently ongoing by the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure’s Transport Safety Investigation Center.”

Expressing that aviation is a very regulated sector, Mehmet T. Nane said, “We work in full compliance with the rules and requirements set by international and national authorities. As Pegasus Airlines, our priority has always been to safely transport our guests from one point to another since the day we were founded. In this context, I would like to share the following information with you. All our processes, from pilot recruitment to technical maintenance and training, are in full compliance with all the requirements set by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, a body of the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, as well as with all international regulations.  Our Safety Management System goes above European standards and is a system that meets all regulatory requirements with an outstanding safety culture, supported by automation. Our annual score from SAFA, the European Union safety tracking program, is above European Union standards. We encourage all our pilots not to take risks; instead it is our policy that all pilots establish and maintain a stabilised approach and if they see any risk whatsoever, to do a go-around, and if necessary to continue to an alternate aerodrome.  This policy, together with all our policies and rules, are inspected by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, a body of the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. The average age of the aircraft in our fleet is 5.3 years old, and their technical reliability is very high. The maintenance of our aircraft and their suitability to fly are both closely monitored and are in full compliance with regulations. Our priority is to identify as soon as possible how this tragic event happened and to prevent it ever happening again. As events like this do not normally have just one cause, but are usually the result of many factors coming together.  Flight safety is of prime concern to Pegasus Airlines so no one should be in any doubt that we will use all our resources to implement any necessary changes if any are identified following the results of the investigation.” 

Mehmet T. Nane continued: “Today, I would like to reiterate that our pain is immeasurable. We will continue to share information with you as the process progresses; but as Pegasus Airlines, today our immediate and primary concern is to be with and support the families and loved ones of our deceased guests, and also to support all our guests who have been affected by the accident.  

I would also like to express my gratitude to all public institutions and organisations that are working alongside us during this process and to all our partners in the sector who have expressed their solidarity in their messages.” 

Pegasus Airlines will release further information as soon as it is available.