A plane flying from Istanbul to Chisinau, with 160 passengers on board, had to return to Turkey after it could not land due to difficult weather conditions. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of Moldova, the aircraft tried to land twice, but the strong wind made the pilot in command to take the decision to return, in accordance with safety procedures, IPN reports.
The flight, operated by a Turkish airline, was supposed to land at the Chisinau International Airport at 02:45 p.m. The plane flew for almost an hour over the territory of the Republic of Moldova, then returned to the starting point, the Istanbul Airport. The flight was re-routed due to gusts of wind.
Representatives of the Civil Aviation Authority explained that the pilot took the decision based on a risk assessment, taking into account the safety of passengers. The official information provided by MOLDATSA confirms that the weather was unfavorable and did not allow safe landing.
Journalist Adrian Prodan, who was on board, told about his experience on social media. “It was the most terrible day", he said, noting that the plane flew for about an hour over Moldova, without the passengers being informed exactly about what was happening, and later the aircraft returned to Turkey, where it landed safely.
The authorities said that all the taken measures were in accordance with the international regulations and the priority was to protect the lives of passengers.
