Istanbul - Sinop

On January 20, 1978 at 12:00 AM, Istanbul - Sinop experienced a crash involving Beechcraft U-21 Ute, operated by United States Army, with the event recorded near Sinop Black Sea Region (Karadeniz Bölgesi).

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a mountains crash site.

5 people were known to be on board, 5 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 3, passenger fatalities: 3, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The airplane was performing a flight from Istanbul to Sinop under call sign Ashak 011. While descending to Sinop Airport in poor weather conditions, the twin engine aircraft struck the slope of a snow covered mountain located near the Black Sea coast. All five occupants were killed. Crew: Cw3 James D. Thompson, pilot, Maj Tommy R. Smith, copilot. Passengers: Pvt Walter J. Penchikowski, Maj Paul G. Schlude, Maj James R. Smith.

Aircraft reference details include registration 66-18011, MSN LM-12, year of manufacture 1967.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 41.6476°, 34.9560°.