BEIJING - Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plane made an emergency landing at Beijing Airport due to a technical failure on Friday.
The Turkish Airlines (THY) Airbus A-340 plane carrying Erdogan and accompanying delegation made an emergency landing at Beijing's Airport 2 hours and 50 minutes after it took off from Shanghai due to a technical failure.
Sources said that the failure in the 'device which balances the cabin pressure' could not be repaired in a short time so AK Party leader Erdogan and accompanying delegation including State Minister Kursat Tuzmen, Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim, Tourism Minister Guldal Aksit, reporters and businessmen would most probably spend the night in Beijing.
Erdogan and the accompanying delegation were kept waiting at Beijing Airport while Ibrahim Bayram, an official of the AK Party for relations with the press, told reporters that they would spend the night in Beijing.
Meanwhile, Erdogan told the A.A correspondent that there was no need to get panicked and everything was on the track.
Erdogan had a phone conversation with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and informed him on their situation.
THY SAYS IT WILL SEND ANOTHER PLANE TO BEIJING IF FAILURE IN ERDOGAN'S PLANE CAN'T BE REPAIRED IN SHORT TIME
Faik Akin, a high level official from the Turkish Airlines (THY), said on Friday that if the failure in the THY plane carrying AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan from Shanghai to Turkey could not be repaired in short time, another plane would be sent to Beijing to pick up passengers.
Speaking to the A.A about the failure in THY's Airbus A-340 type plane that made emergency landing at Beijing's Airport, Akin said, ''the plane made an emergency landing at Beijing's Airopart due to a failure in its air conditioning system. This system is about air-conditioning of the cabin, that is, the passengers part of the plane and about cooling of the engines of the plane. We have three technicians aboard the plane and local technicians in Beijing. They are now trying to repair it. If it is repaired in short time, the delegation will return to Turkey with the same plane. Otherwise, another A-340 plane will be sent to Beijing to bring passengers to Turkey.''
TRANSPORTATION MINISTER YILDIRIM: ''THERE WAS AN ABNORMALITY IN INDICATORS''
Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim said on Friday that technical failure of plane carrying Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and an accompanying delegation was not very important.
Yildirim told reporters that the failure was tried to be overcome and there was nothing to worry about.
''Cell phones should not be opened aboard the plane but it was observed that a cell phone was opened during the landing. This was a very big risk. We are glad nothing bad happened. I request all friends to behave responsibly,'' Yildirim said.
Yildirim noted that indicators would be tested and controlled on the runway and that the plane would took off after officials were sure.
Asked if a new plane would be sent to China, Yildirim said that all measures had been taken, from the possibility of going to Turkey by a new plane to accommodation of the passengers.
''We hope there will not be any need for these. Unless a problem occurs during test, we will continue our route,'' Yildirim said.
Responding a question, Yildirim said that ''they had quite a normal landing'' but that nothing could be risked in aviation.
Yildirim noted that the technical failure was not very important and added, ''there is nothing to dramatize and worry about.''
PILOT OF ERDOGAN'S PLANE SAYS A DEVICE IN AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM HAS TO BE CHANGED
Zafer Baysal, the pilot of the Turkish Airlines (THY) plane carrying Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and an accompanying delegation, said on Friday that a device in the air-conditioning system of the plane had to be changed.
Baysal, the pilot of the Airbus A340 plane which made an emergency landing at Beijing Airport due to a technical failure, informed Erdogan about the failure.
Zafer Baysal said that a device of the air-conditioning system which caused a failure in the cabin pressure indicator had to be changed and added, ''this is the reason of the failure. We have contacted a U.S. company here. I guess the device will be provided within half an hour. We do not risk anything.''