CASA Crash

Questions and concerns about the safety and reliability of EADS CASA aircraft, and about the reliability of EADS as a U.S. defense partner

18 May 2001

Spain pledges 'major investigation' of Turkish crashes

Commenting on the triple CN-235 disaster in Turkey, a Spanish embassy official in Ankara pledges to get to the bottom of it.

Spanish embassy spokesman Guillermo Corral tells CNN: "The company will now undertake a major investigation."

Both pilots of the CN-235 that went down on May 18 were Spanish, as was the flight engineer. The fourth crewman who died was a Turkish technician.

Third Turkish CN-235 wreck claims all on board

On its final test flight before deployment, a Turkish Navy CN-235 crashed at Ankara-Etimesgut Air Force Base, killing all four aboard.

The military executive plane was one of eight CN-235s being modified for the Turkish Navy, according to the Aviation Safety Network.

Technical malfunction is believed to be the cause. CNN reports that "the pilot lost control of the aircraft at 5,000 metres (17,000 feet) and fell into a steep dive, crashing into a field about 650 kilometres (400 miles) southeast of Ankara."

16 May 2001

Second Turkish CN-235 crash kills 34

All 34 passengers and crew aboard a Turkish military CN-235 died when the plane went down near Malatya on a flight from Diyarbakir Airport.

The plane carried six crew and 28 members of the Turkish army's elite special forces.

The incident was the second Turkish disaster involving an EADS CASA CN-235 since January 2001.

The Aviation Safety Network reports that the control tower lost contact with the plane just before the crash.