What happened
On a scheduled flight departing from Istanbul-Atatürk Airport at 00:51 local time, an aircraft carrying 50 passengers and 7 crew members was en route to Isparta. The flight plan required the crew to execute a VOR/DME approach to runway 05 at Isparta Airport, which involved navigating over the IPT VOR and maintaining a 223° heading.
During the night approach, the aircraft struck trees and crashed in a mountainous region situated approximately 12 km west of Isparta Airport, near Çukurören. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and 57 fatalities.
Findings
Investigations into the accident revealed that the crew did not properly program the arrival procedures into the Flight Management System (FMS). Consequently, the flight proceeded toward rising terrain without the correct navigational parameters. Because the EGPWS failed to provide a warning, the crew remained unaware that the aircraft was at an insufficient altitude before the collision occurred.