Investigation Summary
The approach was conducted during a thunderstorm with shifting winds. Shortly before landing, the Tower controller reported a tailwind of 19 knots, gusting to 30 knots, to the crew. A preceding aircraft had reported a 37-knot tailwind below 600 feet, but this information was transmitted in Turkish. The Dutch First Officer, acting as Pilot Monitoring, did not understand the Turkish transmission. Upon touchdown, the aircraft failed to decelerate sufficiently. Although autobrakes and speedbrakes initially deployed, the pilots manually deactivated the speedbrakes and thrust reversers while the aircraft was still traveling at a high ground speed, likely due to a misunderstanding of the remaining runway distance or the effect of the tailwind. Manual braking was resumed six seconds later, but it was too late to prevent the excursion. Flight tracking data suggests the aircraft was steered to the left at the end of the runway in a likely attempt to avoid the ILS antenna array, but the aircraft still struck the antennas and a small building before sliding down the embankment.
Final Conclusions
The accident was caused by the flight crew's failure to execute a go-around despite an unstabilized approach and excessive tailwinds. Contributing factors included the Air Traffic Controller's failure to provide comprehensive weather warnings in English and the crew's premature deactivation of deceleration systems. The presence of windshear and the physical characteristics of the runway end, specifically the steep embankment, exacerbated the severity of the impact.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
First Officer
Ferdinand Pondaag, a Dutch national.
Systems & Failure Modes
Autobrake / Speedbrake
These systems activated upon touchdown but were manually overridden or deactivated prematurely by the crew.
Thrust Reversers
Manually selected after touchdown but switched off while the aircraft still had significant ground speed.
ILS Antennas
The aircraft struck the Instrument Landing System antenna array located past the stopway during the excursion.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was 11 years old and previously operated by Air Berlin.
- 02Two other aircraft had aborted their landing attempts shortly before Flight 2193 arrived.
- 03The aircraft broke into three distinct sections upon impact with the embankment.
- 04The landing was conducted with a tailwind that exceeded the aircraft's operational limits.
- 05The First Officer had only 400 total flight hours at the time of the accident.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Language Standardization
The investigation highlighted the danger of controllers providing critical weather updates in local languages (Turkish) when international crew members are present, leading to calls for stricter adherence to English for all safety-critical transmissions.
Go-around Policy Reinforcement
Pegasus Airlines reiterated its policy encouraging pilots to execute a go-around if an approach is not stabilized or if any risk is identified.
Known Controversies & Unanswered Questions
Corporate Safety Culture Allegations
Reference ↗Following the crash, some former employees alleged that Pegasus Airlines prioritized quick turnarounds and sales over safety, claiming pilots were pressured to work excessive hours, though the airline denied these claims.