Fire destroys preserved A340 at Turkish aeronautical science park

A preserved Airbus A340-300 was destroyed by fire on 5 September at the Ucak Park aeronautical science facility in Kocaeli, Turkey. The aircraft was the park's centerpiece, about 8km southeast of Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport. The cause is under investigation.

The airframe, originally registered TC-JDL, was delivered to Turkish Airlines in 1994 and acquired for the park around 2018. It had been converted to feature interactive technology, including a flight simulator in the cockpit, and opened as an exhibit in October of last year. Other aviation displays, including engines and avionics equipment, sat beneath the aircraft.

According to the Kocaeli metropolitan municipality, fire crews extinguished the blaze after arriving promptly. No fatalities or injuries were reported. Images from the scene show fire along the length of the fuselage and the tail section breaking away.