General

A Turkish Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) because of a technical issue. The flight is expected to leave for Istanbul, Turkey, at 10:00 p.m. tomorrow, November 18, as stated on the airline's official website. However, sources from the airport report that the plane is currently undergoing maintenance. On the evening of November 16, the Turkish Airlines flight, which was headed to Istanbul from Colombo, had to return to BIA after a problem was detected in its landing gear system. This situation led the pilot to take emergency precautions. The aircraft landed safely at BIA at approximately 12:17 a.m. today. This flight, known as TK733, had 202 passengers and 10 crew members when it left BIA at 10:00 p.m. last night. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot realized that the landing gear did not deploy correctly, which required immediate action. To manage the situation, the pilot flew the plane over the Chilaw sea area at about 4,000 feet and 140 knots, burning off fuel to lighten the aircraft and ensuring only the necessary fuel for the return to BIA was left, while the excess fuel was released into the sea. This process took more than two hours, and the aircraft is an Airbus A330, one of the largest passenger planes made in France. The plane was successfully landed at Bandaranaike International Airport at 12:17 a.m. today, with the pilot in control. For safety reasons, the airport had fire trucks, rescue teams, medical staff, and special boats ready along the Negombo coastline. Passengers were safely taken off the plane and moved to nearby hotels, while arrangements were made to send the aircraft for essential maintenance.