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Yesterday, a Jat Airways Boeing B737-300 (registered YU-ANV) skidded off runway 6 at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport at approximately 12.40 upon landing. Flight JU420 from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport to Istanbul’s Ataturk skidded off the runway by some 50 metres, coming to a halt in a ditch. The aircraft’s nose gear and the right main gear were jammed in the mud as a result. There were a total of 125 passengers and 6 crew, none of which were injured. Passengers disembarked the aircraft via the stairs which were brought to the aircraft by the airport ground staff.

Heavy rain showers were reported before landing, leaving the runway wet and slippery, which is presumed to be the reason for the incident as all of the aircraft’s components were functioning normally. Jat Airways has said that this is a minor incident and that a replacement aircraft was flown to Istanbul for passengers on the return flight. Runway 06/24 was closed for some time until the aircraft was excavated from the mud. The aircraft has had minor damage but is expected to return to the fleet soon.

Istanbul’s runway 06/24 is known for its many overruns because of design hitches. The runway is known to be extremely slippery due to its rubber marks and the runway has a slope in its middle section. Among recent airlines which have skidded from the runway are TAROM Romanian Airlines, Onurair and Ariana Afghan Airlines.

Jat Airways has had a bad week with a lot of negative publicity regarding the Jat Tehnika strike which took place last week. This latest news won’t win any fans.