Turkish cargo plane crashes near Kyrgyz capital, killing at least 37

By bne IntelliNews January 16, 2017

A Turkish cargo plane flying from Hong Kong crashed on January 16 near Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek, killing at least 37.

Operated by ACT Airlines, the Boeing 747 TC-MCL aircraft crashed as it landed in fog at Manas airport, located 25km north of Bishkek. The Istanbul-based airline operates under the name under the name MyCargo. The plane is believed to have been around 14 years old.

Flight TK6491 was scheduled to refuel at Manas on its way to Istanbul, Turkey.

The plane damaged or destroyed at least 20 homes in a Kyrgyz village. The incident took place at 7:30am in the morning, when most of the residents in the village were asleep.

The incident prompted Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev to cancel his visit to China.

"According to preliminary information, the plane crashed due to a pilot error," Deputy Prime Minister Muhammetkaly Abulgaziyev told state-run media. Nonetheless, Kyrgyz prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation, according to Kyrgyz media reports.

The plane "crashed on landing at Bishkek at the end of the runway for an unknown reason," ACT Airlines said in a statement.

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