Turkish Cypriot plane overshoots runway

A TURKISH Cypriot airliner overshot the runway at occupied Tymbou airport on Sunday in the illegal airport’s first ever aeroplane accident.

The incident happened when a Boeing 727 operated by so-called Cyprus Turkish Airways (CTA) and arriving from Nurenberg via Antalya, touched down half way down the runway, failed to stop before it ran out and ended up in a muddy field beyond the end of the runway.

Three fire engines rushed to the scene and sprayed foam over the stricken plane to prevent fire. The nine crew members and 98 passengers, mostly tourists, were immediately taken off the plane. There were no injuries.

The airport was closed to air traffic until the plane could be towed to a hangar for repairs.

According to reports in yesterday’s Turkish Cypriot press, airline officials have blamed a technical fault for the incident, although the ‘Civil Aviation Department’ has cited pilot error.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.