1962 Taurus Mountains Turkish Airlines F-27 crash

1962 aircraft accident in Turkey July 2026 8 March 1962 Controlled flight into terrain Accident Fokker F-27-100 TC-TEK THY ATH 22.04.73 edited-3 (cropped).jpg A Fairchild F-27 of Turkish Airlines, similar to the one that crashed Mount Medetsiz, Niğde, Turkey 37.469 N 34.611 E title Fairchild F-27 TC-KOP Turkish Airlines Yeşilköy Airport, Istanbul, Turkey Esenboğa Airport, Ankara, Turkey Adana Airport, Adana, Turkey 11 0 8 3 On 8 March 1962, a Fairchild F-27 of Turkish Airlines crashed into Mount Medetsiz in the Taurus Mountains range while en route from Ankara Esenboğa Airport to Adana Airport, killing all eight passengers and three crew members on board. The flight took an unusual route directly through the mountain range and encountered cumulus clouds during descend into Adana, causing the flight crew to navigate around them. It is believed that the pilots lost track of their location and altitude while doing so, causing the plane to crash into the bottom of an abyss in the mountains. The location of the wreckage and harsh weather conditions prevented the rescue team from reaching the accident site before 11 March. Aircraft and crew The aircraft involved in the accident was a Fairchild F-27 registered as TC-KOP with serial number 83.1962 Taurus Crash https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19620308-1 live https://web.archive.org/web/20220403122048/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19620308-1 3 April 2022 22 August 2022 Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety Foundation The aircraft had made its first flight in 1960 and had a valid airworthiness certificate.https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-fairchild-f27-mt-medetsiz-11-killed Crash of a Fairchild F27 on Mt Medetsiz: 11 Killed 22 August 2022 Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives 7 March 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220307232816/https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-fairchild-f27-mt-medetsiz-11-killed liveICAO 1966 46 The captain and pilot in command of the flight was Nejat Aksan, while the co-pilot was Zülfikar Kaya. Emel Kiper was the sole cabin crew member on board; she was replacing another flight attendant who had gotten sick.11 March 1962 https://gazetearsivi.milliyet.com.tr/liste?tarih=1962.03.11 Torosların üzerinde 11 kişi ile düsen "KOP"un enkazına varılamadı Turkish The wreckage of "KOP", which crashed in the Taurus with 11 people, could not be reached 1 Milliyet registration According to the final report, the crew was properly licensed.ICAO 1966 46 Accident The flight originated from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport and was heading to Adana Airport with a stopover at Ankara Esenboğa Airport. The aircraft took off from Ankara for the second leg of the flight at 16:28 local time (14:28 GMT) without taking any new passengers.11 March 1962 https://egazete.cumhuriyet.com.tr/oku/192/1962-03-11/0 Kop Uçağının Enkazına Mütehassıs Heyetten Önce Köylüler Ulaştılar Turkish Villagers Reached the Wreckage of the Kop Plane Before the Expert Committee 1 Cumhuriyet Civilian flights from Ankara to Adana would usually take a western detour via Konya and Silifke to avoid the Taurus Mountains. However, the flight crew started heading directly towards Adana, a flight path which was only reserved for military aircraft.11 March 1962 https://gazetearsivi.milliyet.com.tr/liste?tarih=1962.03.11 "KOP"un enkazına varılamadı Turkish The wreckage of "KOP" could not be reached 7 Milliyet registration At 17:28, the pilots contacted the controller at the Incirlik Air Base to report that they were at an altitude of 17500 ft m and requested clearance to approach Adana. They also told that they were flying around cumulus clouds and changing their altitude accordingly to avoid turbulence. The controller cleared the aircraft to descend to 5000 ft m and told the pilots to notify the tower when passing through 8000 ft m and 7000 ft m. No further communication was received from the aircraft.ICAO 1966 46–47 The aircraft crashed at 17:43 local time at 6800 ft m above sea level into Mount Medetsiz, around 47 nmi km from the airport.ICAO 1966 46 The wreckage was located at the bottom of a deep abyss near the villages of Madenköy and Gümüşköy, Ulukışla tr Gümüşköy in the Ulukışla District of Niğde, scattered around a large area.Gök 2018 61 The aircraft split into three main pieces upon impact.12 March 1962 https://egazete.cumhuriyet.com.tr/oku/192/1962-03-12/0 Kurtarma Ekipi de Uçak Enkazına Ulaştı Turkish The Rescue Team Also Reached the Plane Wreck 1 Cumhuriyet Victims and recovery +Nationalities of victimsCountryPaxCrewTotalTurkey639United States2-2Total8311 There were three crew members and eight passengers on board the airplane. Two passengers were from the United States; they were employed by a construction company based in Mersin. The crash site was first located by a helicopter two days after the accident. A team of 15 British mountaineers and ten Turkish Air Force privates got close to the wreckage on 10 March, but were unable to reach it due to its location down in the abyss as well as the strong winds and snow present that day. After spending the night in Madenköy, the team set out again the following morning with the help of local villagers to walk the last 5 mi km remaining to the wreckage.12 March 1962 https://gazetearsivi.milliyet.com.tr/liste?tarih=1962.03.12 "KOP"un enkazına ancak dün varıldı Turkish The wreckage of "KOP" was only reached yesterday 1 Milliyet registration They reached the aircraft six hours later and found that the bodies were torn in pieces and badly burned, making identification impossible.12 March 1962 https://gazetearsivi.milliyet.com.tr/liste?tarih=1962.03.12 "KOP"un enkazına ancak dün varıldı Turkish The wreckage of "KOP" was only reached yesterday 5 Milliyet registration Six bodies were taken out of the plane on 12 March,13 March 1962 https://egazete.cumhuriyet.com.tr/oku/192/1962-03-13/0 Uçak Enkazından 6 Ceset Çıkarıldı Turkish 6 Bodies Were Removed From the Plane Wreck 1 Cumhuriyet followed by three more on the next day.14 March 1962 https://egazete.cumhuriyet.com.tr/oku/192/1962-03-14/0 3 Ceset Daha Çıkarıldı Turkish 3 More Bodies Were Removed 1 Cumhuriyet Reincarnation theory One of the passengers on the flight was Ahmet Delibalta, who was returning to Adana after searching for a female singer for his nightclub.Stevenson 1980 288 Five days after the crash on 13 March, a boy named Erkan Kılıç was born in Adana. According to a book published by professor Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia, Kılıç was afraid of seeing and hearing airplanes until the age of three. Stevenson claimed that soon after gaining ability to speak, Kılıç said that he was Delibalta, died in a plane crash and that he survived the initial impact, but later froze to death. He was able to correctly identify Delibalta's family members from photographs.Stevenson 1980 290 Kılıç also identified Rengin Arda, the singer who was coming back to Adana with him and died in the accident.Stevenson 1980 285 Cause The two-page long final report was translated to English and released by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 1966. The report was only based on the initial findings made by the investigators, without discussion of evidence or analysis of the wreckage.ICAO 1966 47 The probable cause of the accident according to this report was: "In avoiding cumulus cloud[s] and associated turbulent conditions, the pilot was not able to keep track of his exact position or to maintain exact altitude."ICAO 1966 47 This explanation was re-affirmed in 1975, when Gündüz Sevilgen, a member of the 15th Parliament of Turkey from the National Salvation Party, wrote several questions to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey related to Turkish Airlines, including the causes of accidents.TBMM 1975 106 He received a response from the Minister of Transport, Sabahattin Özbek, on 18 March. The response included a short list of causes of all Turkish Airlines crashes to date.TBMM 1975 110 The cause for the Taurus crash in the response was: "Hit the Taurus mountains due to bad weather, the plane heading to Adana crashed while trying to fly around the clouds and adjusting the altitude to the clouds."TBMM 1975 110 "Kötü hava şartları nedeniyle Toros dağlarına çarpma, Adana'ya gitmekte olan uçak bulutların etrafından dolaşmak isterken ve irtifayı bulutlara göre ayarlamak isterken vukua gelmiştir." References Citations Bibliography Gök Kerem 2018 Uçak Kazaları: Türk Sivil Havacılık Tarihine Damgasını Vuran Kazalar Aircraft Accidents: Accidents That Left Their Mark on Turkish Civil Aviation History Kanon Kitap Ankara First 9786056864414 Turkish ICAO 1966 Report No. 6 https://www.baaa-acro.com/sites/default/files/import/uploads/2017/11/TC-KOP.pdf 22 August 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220822134127/https://www.baaa-acro.com/sites/default/files/import/uploads/2017/11/TC-KOP.pdf live ICAO Circular Aircraft Accident Digest 14 International Civil Aviation Organization 46–48 TBMM March 1975 Manisa Milletvekili M. Gündüz Sevilgen'in, Türk Hava Yollan Genel Müdürlüğü Teşkilâtı Personeline ve Uçak Kazalarına İlişkin Sorusu ve Ulaştırma Bakanı Sabahattin Özbek'in Yazılı Cevabı Manisa Deputy M. Gündüz Sevilgen's Question Regarding Turkish Airlines General Directorate Organization Personnel and Aircraft Accidents and Written Answer of the Minister of Transport Sabahattin Özbek https://www5.tbmm.gov.tr/tutanaklar/TUTANAK/MM__/d04/c011/mm__04011052.pdf Millet Meclisi Tutanak Dergisi 19 August 2022 23 May 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120523012345/https://www5.tbmm.gov.tr/tutanaklar/TUTANAK/MM__/d04/c011/mm__04011052.pdf Grand National Assembly of Turkey live 11 106–111 Turkish Stevenson Ian Ian Stevenson October 1980 Cases of the Reincarnation Type: Twelve Cases in Lebanon and Turkey https://archive.org/details/casesofreincarna03stev 16 July 2026 live 3 University Press of Virginia 9780813908168 External links 19620308-1 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1962 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Turkey Category:Turkish Airlines accidents and incidents Turkish Airlines 1962 Taurus Mauntains Turkish Airlines 1962 Category:History of Adana Province Turkish Airlines Taurus Mountains 1962 Category:March 1962 in Turkey Category:1962 disasters in Turkey