Passengers have spoken about their terror as their holiday jet burst into flames in Antalya, Turkey, amid panic and chaos on board as the cabin filled with black smoke
Turkey: Russian passenger jet evacuated after catching fire
This is the terrifying moment a holiday jet bursts into flames while landing in horror winds as passengers began to “suffocate.”
Those on board have spoken of their terror as their holiday jet burst into flames in Antalya, Turkey amid panic and chaos on board as the cabin filled with black smoke. There was a “stampede” to exit the stricken aircraft as flames swirled from ignited kerosene that had leaked onto the runway.
All 95 passengers and crew miraculously escaped by evacuation slides amid fears the Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft would explode. One report said the wing clipped the runway as the Russian Azimuth Airlines aircraft swayed about in high winds.
There were also reports that the jinxed Superjet’s autopilot failed on approach and the manual landing was at too high a speed on the flight from Sochi to Antalya. Azimuth plane fire survivor Evgeniya Lavrinenko – a TikTok influencer – said: “There was panic in the cabin, people started jumping up, trying to get their bags, putting them in the aisle.
“And then a sharp flash in all the windows showed that the fire had burst into flames. Smoke poured strongly into the cabin. There was a crush, nobody let anyone through. Everyone was trying to carry their suitcases for some reason. They wouldn’t let kids through, they wouldn’t let anyone through.”
One heroic passenger is reported to have forced open a plane door after a female cabin crew member was in panic as she was unable to open it. “We were sitting almost at the very end, and there was smoke coming from behind,” said Evgeniya. And then someone shouted that there were evacuation slides at the back of the plane – run back.
“We ran back, and there was even more smoke, we started to suffocate. Then they tell us the opposite, run forwards. I shouted to my child to cover her face with a cloth so she could breathe We ran forwards, and we were among the last to get out.
“You could see the fire brigade had arrived, they were putting out the fire. We came down on this slide. My daughter was first, I followed her, screaming all around us. It was very scary.”
She said: “We all ran to a field, because we didn’t know if the plane would explode or what would happen to it. My daughter was crying, everyone was crying, but luckily everyone survived.”
The airline said: “On November 24, 2024, during landing of Azimuth Airlines flight A45051 Sochi-Antalya, a rough landing occurred as a result of wind shear. The commander decided to evacuate via inflatable slides.”
Russian diplomats came to the airport to help passengers, some who lost their passports on the plane. They had to wait hours for their baggage. The passengers have threatened a class action lawsuit against Azimuth Airlines.
Telegram channel VChK-OGPU said its sources reported that “the autopilot of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 that caught fire in Antalya failed first…. The plane was approaching the landing in Direct Mode (backup control system).
“During landing, the plane exceeded the permissible speed, which is why the touchdown with the runway was hard, and a design error in the location of the rear landing gear and fuel tanks…..caused the fire. Miraculously, human casualties were avoided. The plane cannot be restored.”
Another passenger Sultan Sultanov said: “The plane landed wrong, hard. I don’t think the wind was the cause. It was just a hard landing. I was sitting in the front, and I ran….I opened the door and people came out.
“It’s good that the firemen got here faster. Thanks to the Turks – the firemen arrived in 30 seconds. And put out the fire….. Thank God, everyone is alive and well, that’s the most important thing.”
This aircraft was damaged in October resulting in an emergency landing. The Superjet is Vladimir Putin’s pet project – and was intended as a Russian short haul aircraft to challenge Boeing and Airbus models. In 2012 it suffered a crash in Indonesia, killing all 45 on board. In 2019, a Superjet crashed landed in Moscow after being struck by lightning, killing 41 out of 78 on board. The Superjet has a reputation as jinxed due to repeated technical and operational problems since its introduction in 2011.