On Tuesday morning, a Pegasus flight from Sharjah, UAE skidded off the runway in Istanbul, prompting the city's second airport to shut down temporarily.
The passenger plane, a Boeing 737-800, departed the Emirati city at 5:15 a.m. and arrived in Istanbul on time, but not in a straight line. In photos circulating online, the plane can be seen drifting off the runway at Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. Fortunately, no deaths or injuries were reported in the aftermath of the incident.
According to media reports, the passengers aboard the flight were eventually evacuated by emergency slides as footage posted on Twitter also confirm.
Emergency vehicles were stationed at the scene beside the plane, which was situated on the grass located beside the runway. Following the incident, the departures from the local airport were suspended.
Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines redirected its five Sabiha Gökçen-bound flights to another airport in Istanbul and one in the capital Ankara.
"The necessary investigations have begun and we will continue to provide information with regards to any further updates," a spokesperson for the airline said.
It remains unclear what caused the plane to skid off the runway. There have been reports that storms and heavy rainfall have been affecting the city's transportation routine since Sunday night.
Not the first time a Pegasus flight skids off the runway in Turkey
In January 2018, Pegasus Airlines was faced with a similar fate ... and in Turkey as well. The airline skidded off the runway at Trabzon airport in the country's north-east, ending up halfway down a steep slope into the Black Sea.
According to ABC News, the plane "came to a halt on a cliffside just meters above the water." Luckily, all 162 passengers, the two pilots, and four cabin crew came out unscathed.