Fire damages ex-Turkish Airlines A340 used as science center in Turkey
A fire broke out Saturday in a decommissioned Airbus A340 that once flew for Turkish Airlines and now serves as an aviation science center in Çayırova, Turkey. The blaze caused heavy damage, including the tail section collapsing, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
A former Turkish Airlines Airbus A340-300 that had been turned into an aviation science center caught fire on Saturday in Çayırova, Kocaeli province, Turkey. The aircraft, registered TC-JDL, was retired by the airline in 2015 and later reassembled on site after being moved in sections on 14 trucks.
According to the report, the fire started around 3 p.m. local time. Video footage showed dense black smoke and flames engulfing parts of the fuselage. The tail section eventually collapsed. Firefighters and police responded, and the blaze was brought under control after extended firefighting efforts.
No information on the cause of the fire or possible injuries was immediately available. The aircraft, serial number 057, was built in 1994 and delivered new to Turkish Airlines, where it flew for more than 20 years under the names "Ankara" and later "Malazgirt". It was withdrawn from service in March 2015 and parked at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport before being dismantled in 2016.
The airframe was preserved as an educational exhibit rather than scrapped.
Sources
- aerotelegraph.comDieser Airbus A340 entging dem Schrottplatz – jetzt haben Flammen ihn zerstört