Turkish Airlines Flight 6491

Aircraft The aircraft involved, manufactured in February 2003, was a Boeing 747-412F, registered as TC-MCL with serial number 32897. The aircraft had logged 46820 airframe hours in 8308 takeoff and landing cycles and its last C-check maintenance check had been completed on 6 November 2015. It was also equipped with four Pratt & Whitney PW4056-3 engines. ==Accident==

Flight 6491 was an international freight flight from Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport to Istanbul's Atatürk Airport with a transit at Bishkek's Manas International Airport. Two airports, Astana and Karaganda, were listed as alternate destinations in case the weather in Bishkek was not suitable for landing. The flight would be flown by ACT Airlines on behalf of Turkish Airlines. After a two-hour delay, the aircraft took off from Hong Kong at 03:12 local time and would be expected to arrive in Bishkek approximately 6 hours later. Approach In order to land in Manas, the crew of Flight 6491 would have needed to fly towards several sets of waypoints beforehand. The first one would be RAXAT, in which the crew would be obliged to fly at a minimum altitude of 17,000 ft due to the high terrain in the area. After passing RAXAT, the crew would then proceed to TOKPA and would be cleared to descend further until the aircraft's instruments managed to capture the ILS signal, which was necessary for a progressive descent to Manas, allowing the crew to safely land despite the mountainous terrain. As the aircraft got closer to Manas, the pilots started their briefing for the approach. Weather reports indicated that Manas was covered in fog and that visibility had deteriorated. In response to the inclement condition, Captain Dirancı laid out the steps that the crew would take during the approach. Dirancı stated that a landing would only be commenced if they had managed to see the runway lights. If during the approach they had intercepted the ILS signal at an altitude lower than 1,000 ft, then a go-around would be called instead. The rest of the crew followed his instructions and didn't voice any objections. Having finished with the approach briefing, the crew requested descent clearance to the ATC. The controller approved their request and ordered the crew to descend to 22,000 ft, which pleased Captain Dirancı as he had been aiming to land in Manas as soon as possible. Around eight minutes later, Captain Dirancı asked First Officer Öndül to request another descent clearance. The controller, however, denied clearance and asked the crew to stay on 22,000 ft as they were still flying above the Tian Shan mountains. Captain Dirancı thought that they would be allowed to descend sooner and was surprised to hear this, causing him to curse at the ATC. Getting anxious with the aircraft's altitude, Captain Dirancı ordered First Officer Öndül to request another clearance. This time, their request was approved, and the crew was cleared to descend to flight level 180 and was not allowed to fly lower due to the mountains. Flight 6491 was eventually handed over to the approach controller. Still not satisfied with their altitude, Captain Dirancı ordered his first officer to ask for another descent clearance, even though they had not reached waypoint RAXAT, the first waypoint for the approach. While contacting the approach controller, the crew immediately asked for permission to descend. The controller did instruct the crew to descend to 6,000 ft to proceed to waypoint TOKPA. Since this procedure required a steep descent, Captain Dirancı responded with dismay. After passing waypoint RAXAT, the crew initiated their descent from 18,000 ft to 6,000 ft. The autopilot was set with the targeted airspeed of 260 knots, and the engines were set to near idle. The anti-icing was turned off. Due to the high rate of descent, the airspeed soared. In response to this, Captain Dirancı stated that he would maintain such speed and would only correct it later on. Despite the airspeed, the descent was not as quick as Captain Dirancı had hoped, and thus he deployed the airbrakes when the aircraft was at 12,200 ft. The aircraft eventually reached waypoint TOKPA at 9,200 ft, approximately 3,000 ft higher than the altitude that had been instructed earlier. The crew, however, decided to continue with the approach. ATC eventually cleared them for further descent and to head towards another waypoint to intercept the ILS glideslope signal. Both pilots then tried to find the airport's glideslope signal, but to no avail. Struggling to find the signal, Captain Dirancı ordered First Officer Öndül to look for the runway. They eventually passed the airport's final approach point, but no signal was received from the ILS. Angered by this, Captain Dirancı vented his anger by cursing the ATC again, to the surprise of First Officer Öndül, who tried to calm down Dirancı. Despite not acquiring the ILS signal, the crew still continued their approach to Manas. While nearing Manas, the ATC worker cleared Flight 6491 to land. On board the aircraft, the crew were still searching for the signal. Suddenly, the aircraft's flight system detected the signal from the ILS. At an altitude of 3,400 ft, the autopilot captured it and finally initiated the descent to Manas. Descent and accident Captain Dirancı immediately engaged the aircraft's autoland system, and the aircraft began its descent with a nose-down attitude of 3 degrees. With their imminent landing, the crew tried to search the runway lights once more. The weather in the surrounding area was still filled with thick fog, hampering their attempts. As the aircraft was descending, its Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) suddenly blared, "Glide slope! Glide slope!" which was met with no response from the crew. The alarm eventually ceased when the aircraft reached an altitude of 200 ft. Getting nearer to the ground, First Officer Öndül stated that the aircraft was approaching the airport's minimum decision altitude, the height at which the pilots needed to decide whether to land or go around unless they had acquired visuals with the runway. Trying to see the runway once more, the crew attempted to locate the runway again. The aircraft reached the minimum decision altitude, but the pilots still weren't able to locate the runway. As such, Captain Dirancı immediately called for a go-around. But as the aircraft was starting to climb, rows of trees suddenly came into view. The right wingtip clipped the treetops while the landing gear and engines ploughed through the airport's perimeter fence. The aircraft came back down, touched down, and bounced back into the air before it crashed into another fence. Its right wing then slammed onto houses, causing the wing to disintegrate. The aircraft then turned to the right before flipping over completely, bursting into massive flames and engulfing dozens of houses in the area. ==Response==

Search and rescue operation At 07:17 local time (01:17 UTC) on 16 January 2017, the aircraft crashed nearly beyond the end of runway 26 at Manas International Airport, Minutes after the accident, at 07:23 local time, Manas Airport issued an alert to all rescue personnel. The first airport fire brigade arrived at the accident site on 07:30 local time. Reinforcements from Kyrgyzstan Emergency Control Ministry arrived around 10 minutes later. The accident site was then cordoned off. Residents who were trapped inside their homes were immediately evacuated. About 20 local residents also volunteered in the search and rescue operations. In total, there were 1,308 personnel who took action in the accident removal actions. One of the local volunteers also died of "natural causes" during the search and rescue operation. Among the dead were 17 children. Thirty-six people, including 17 children, were injured with varying degree of injuries. Two days after the accident, the search and rescue operation was ended, after authorities believed that they had recovered all victims from the accident site. Government response The Ministry of Emergency deployed more than 1,000 personnel to secure the accident site and safely remove the wreckage. The debris was scattered over 1 hectare. High-ranking officials eventually visited the accident site to observe the search and rescue operation, including then-Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov, Deputy Prime Minister Mukhammedkalyi Abylgaziev, Minister of Emergency Situations Kubatbek Boronov and Minister of Transportation and Roads Zhamshitbek Kalilov. Minister of Health Talantbek Batyraliyev reported that by 11:46 a.m. local time, around 56 doctors and psychologists and 14 ambulance crews had been dispatched to the scene. The flag of Kyrgyzstan would be flown at half-mast in every public institution and diplomatic building. Accordingly, numerous entertainment programs were cancelled by radio and television stations. Several cultural programs were also cancelled. A number of heads of state expressed condolences, including the presidents of the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Prime Minister of Turkey. In response to the accident, there have been concerns regarding the presence of houses near the airport, prompting calls for resettlement from multiple government officials. MPs of the Jogorku Kenesh asked the government to demolish the dachas and relocate the residents to a safer place. Concerns began to grow as an impromptu inspection revealed that the houses had been built illegally, as the dachas were only meant for seasonal dwellings during the summer and spring, but the residents opted to stay permanently. Many residents were unwilling to move due to financial reasons and instead asked the settlement to be given an official status. As issues regarding the dachas remained unresolved, the residents held a rally in front of the Bishkek White House to ensure their safety and the status of their homes. Documents retrieved from the flight revealed that the owner of the cargo inside the aircraft was not known at all. There had been discrepancies in the documents of the cargo, in which the goods were shipped with instructions in the Kyrgyz language, raising suspicions that the aircraft had been carrying contraband, as no one from Kyrgyzstan had come forward to claim the goods for compensation. Opposition party Ata-Meken was quick to accuse that the aircraft was possibly a part of a corruption scheme and that the cargo actually had belonged to President Almazbek Atambayev, which he denied. Omurbek Tekebayev, leader of Ata-Meken, criticised the government for trying to conceal information regarding the true owners of the cargo. In response to this finding, the parliament established a temporary commission to investigate the matter further. The result of the investigation, however, was never made public. Compensations A commission was quickly established by the Kyrgyz government to provide swift assistance for the relatives of the victims. The Kyrgyz government announced that those affected by the accident would be fully compensated, including costs of treatment for the injured and funerals for the dead. Temporary shelters would also be constructed for the displaced. Relief funds were set up across the country. Public funds managed to collect a total of more than 100 million Kyrgyz somovs, meanwhile in nearby Kazakhstan aids were also collected for the victims. Those included foods, utensils and clothing for the affected. The funds were taken by the government to be distributed to the victims, though the sum was not undisclosed as per requests from family members due to security reasons. Several family members eventually accused the government of failing to provide the adequate amount of compensation, while the government stated that the collected funds, including the ones collected from the public, had been distributed equally and fairly to the affected. The Kyrgyz press reported that ACT Airlines had declared the intent to pay the victims compensation for all material and immaterial losses, citing a press release on the ACT Airlines web site. The press release itself, however, stated only that losses were covered by insurance. According to the Kyrgyz press, the Turkish government would take part in the compensations. A seven-day vacation to Turkey was eventually organized for the relatives of the 39 victims, which included a cultural and rehabilitation programme. ==Investigation==

Initial investigation The cause of the accident was not immediately clear. Kyrgyzstan's Emergency Situations Minister, Kubatbek Boronov, stated that it was foggy at Manas at the time of the accident, but that weather conditions were not critical. By the afternoon of 16 January, one of the two flight recorders had been found, Both the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were damaged in the accident, but investigators were still able to retrieve data from both recorders. This statement was at odds with another official statement that the aircraft crashed during its first landing attempt, who stated that the crew were making a determined attempt to land the aircraft instead of aborting the landing. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC or MAK) of the Commonwealth of Independent States opened a technical investigation. The Turkish Transportation Ministry said it had sent two experts from its accident investigation board to Bishkek to assist Kyrgyz authorities. Many initial press responses stated that a Turkish Airlines aircraft was involved in the accident. In response, Turkish Airlines released a statement saying that neither the aircraft nor the crew were part of the airline, calling it an "ACT Airlines accident". Journalists were threatened by Turkish lawyers claiming reputational damage. Nevertheless, the flight was operated under a Turkish Airlines flight number. The preliminary investigation report found that the aircraft descended late and captured a false glideslope. On capturing the false glideslope, the three autopilots then initiated the descent of the plane Recommendations issued by the IAC include calls for improvements in flight crew and ATC training, changes in the Boeing 747 automation system, and the addition of radar in Manas International Airport. ==Aftermath==

Memorial A plan to erect a memorial at the site of the accident was flaunted by officials, which got approved for construction in the same year. Funding for the memorial monument would rely on the relief funds that had been collected for the relatives. During the one-year anniversary of the accident, the memorial was unveiled to the public, and a commemoration was held, which was attended by the residents of Dacha SU and several government officials. On the anniversary of the accident, a minute of silence was observed by members of the Jogorku Kenesh. Children of the victims were invited to attend a meeting with Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov for the commemoration. Controversy Several months after accusing President Atambayev of probable smuggling, the leader of Ata-Meken was sued for defamation. The Bishkek District Court announced that lawyers of Ata-Meken owed the president 10 million somovs for the case. The investigation regarding the ownership of the cargo was eventually suspended and the result was not made public. However, approximately two years after the accident, criminal investigation into the accident was resumed by authorities, with the Prosecutor General of Kyrgyzstan, Otkurbek Dzhamshitov, refusing to give out details to the media. As the investigation progressed, approximately 22 personnel who had taken part in the search and rescue operation were charged with theft after being suspected of looting from the accident site. Afterwards, there were no updates on the investigation following the country's political turmoil in 2019–2021, which was marked by protests, civil upheaval, and conflict with Tajikistan. Other than issues regarding the owner of the cargo and accusations of smuggling, residents of the dachas complained that they had been abandoned by the government. Despite early talks from the government on resettlement plans, most of the residents had not moved at all and remained living at the site. There had been attempts to follow up the result of the plan, but members of the government kept saying that they weren't aware of the final say, and in the end no actions had been taken. First Deputy Akim of Sokuluk District, Ulan Sadaliev, stated that at the time there were no existing plots for relocation. Several plots of lands had been offered to the residents, but the residents didn't accept them for various reasons. The investigation finally continued in 2022, when then-President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov decided to establish a new public commission to investigate the possible criminal nature of the accident and solutions for the relatives affected by it. The commission conducted hearings from family members and government officials for their response to the accident. Various issues including distribution of compensation money, possible misuse of the relief funds, accusations of contraband, and lack of government assistance were raised. In November 2022, the investigation was completed and a full report was submitted to the president. The commission concluded that the aircraft was not carrying illegal goods and compensation issues were to be resolved within a dedicated span of time. The resettlement problem, however, was not resolved. In February 2023, it was reported that land plots belonging to Kyrgyz politician Maxim Bakiyev had been handed over to the Presidential Property Management Department for the construction of new homes for the planned resettlement. ==Notes==