 A Turkish Airlines Viscount 700 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 17 February 1959 |
| Summary | CFIT due to weather conditions |
| Site | Jordan's Wood, Newdigate, Surrey, England 51°08′25″N 000°16′27″W / 51.14028°N 0.27417°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Vickers Viscount 793 |
| Operator | Turkish Airlines |
| Registration | TC-SEV |
| Flight origin | Esenboğa International Airport Ankara, Turkey |
| Stopover | Atatürk International Airport Istanbul, Turkey |
| Last stopover | Leonardo da Vinci Airport Rome, Italy |
| Destination | London Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom (diverted to London Gatwick Airport due to fog at Heathrow) |
| Passengers | 16 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 14 |
| Injuries | 9 |
| Survivors | 10 |
On 17 February 1959, a Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount Type 793 (registration TC-SEV) on an international charter flight from Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, to London Heathrow Airport diverted to London Gatwick Airport, United Kingdom due to heavy fog. It was carrying the Turkish prime minister and a party of government officials. The Viscount crashed in a wood 3 miles (4.8 km) from the threshold of Gatwick runway during its final approach to land in extensive fog. Five of the eight crew and nine of the 16 passengers died in the crash. The prime minister was among the ten survivors.