162 Passengers escaped death as plane crash into mud in Turkey

A plane with 162 passengers on board came within yards of plunging into the Black Sea when it skidded off the runway onto a seaside cliff  as it tried to land at the Trabzon Airport in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Pegasus Airlines aircraft, carrying 162 passengers and flight crew, was left dangling precariously over a cliff-edge, as its wheels stuck in the frozen mud.

No one was injured in what one passenger called a “miracle”.

The Pegasus Airlines flight had taken off smoothly from Turkey's capital Ankara bound for Trabzon, where the accident occurred as the plane was landing late Saturday.

There was panic, people shouting, screaming,” One of the passengers, Fatma Gordu, told state-run Anadolu news agency

When they told us to leave from the rear exit, everyone tried to push ahead of everyone else. It was a terrible situation.

She said they could smell fuel and feared that a fire would break out.

That is why we were scared,” she said, adding that there were pregnant women and children on board.

another passenger, Yuksel Gordu said it was a “miracle” they were saved.

We could have burned, it could have exploded, we could have fallen into the sea… Every time I think about it, I feel I might go crazy, she said.

Pegasus Airlines confirmed in a statement on Sunday there were no injuries among the 162 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants.

The cause of the incident was unknown but was being investigated.

The airport was temporarily shut before reopening early Sunday, while an operation to remove the plane was ongoing.