Istanbul - Ercan

On February 27, 1988 at 10:25 AM, Istanbul - Ercan experienced a crash involving Boeing 727-200, operated by Talia Airways, with the event recorded near Arapköy Kyrenia.

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

15 people were known to be on board, 15 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 6, passengers on board: 9, passenger fatalities: 9, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The crew started the descent to Ercan Airport in limited visibility due to marginal weather conditions. After being cleared for a VOR approach, the captain cancelled the IFR flight plan and descended prematurely at an altitude of 2,000 feet. He elected to make a turn to avoid the mountain when the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain (954 meters high) located about 16 km north of Ercan Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 15 occupants were killed. The flight was completed on behalf of JAT Yugoslav Airlines. On board were six Turkish citizen (crew), seven Yugoslav citizens and two British.

Aircraft reference details include registration TC-AKD, MSN 20930, year of manufacture 1974.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 35.3382°, 33.5246°.