Turkish Airlines Flight 6491
The accident site and the wreckage of Flight 6491 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 16 January 2017 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain during go-around |
| Site | Dacha-SU, Sokuluk District, near Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 43°03′26″N 74°26′14″E / 43.05722°N 74.43722°E |
| Total fatalities | 39 |
| Total injuries | 36 |
| Aircraft | |
| The aircraft involved, seen at Maastricht Aachen Airport, 5 days before the accident | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-412F/SCD |
| Operator | ACT Airlines on behalf Turkish Cargo |
| IATA flight No. | TK6491 |
| ICAO flight No. | THY6491 |
| Call sign | TURKISH 6491 |
| Registration | TC-MCL |
| Flight origin | Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong, China |
| Stopover | Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan |
| Destination | Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Occupants | 4 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 4 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 35 |
| Ground injuries | 36 |
Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 was a scheduled international cargo flight operated by ACT Airlines on behalf of Turkish Cargo, from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. On 16 January 2017, the Boeing 747-400F flying the route crashed in a residential area while attempting to land in thick fog at Manas International Airport, Bishkek. A total of 39 people – all 4 crew members on board and 35 residents on the ground – were killed.
It was Kyrgyzstan's deadliest plane crash since the crash of Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895 in 2008.
The subsequent investigation found that the aircraft failed to acquire the correct instrument landing system's signal. Due to a series of errors from the pilots, the aircraft flew significantly higher than the proper altitude for approach. The autopilot then picked up a false glide slope signal. Having believed that they had captured the correct glide slope, both pilots let the autopilot put the aircraft into a descent. It then crashed into a residential area past the runway, merely seconds after a go-around was initiated.