Updated: Corrected to reflect correct aircraft registration number, TC-MCL. A previous version of this story erroneously reported the registration as TC-ACJ, and that the aircraft was operated by Turkish Airlines. The aircraft was operated by Turkey's ACT Airlines, which trades under the name MyCargo Airlines.
A MyCargo Airlines Boeing 747-400F aircraft has crashed near Kyrgyzstan’s Manas International airport, the key portal for the country’s capital city of Bishkek.
Reports indicate that the body of one pilot has been recovered, as well as 15 victims on the ground.
A brief statement from Manas airport indicates that the aircraft was operating on the Hong Kong-Bishkek-Istanbul route.
Airport sources at Hong Kong indicate the aircraft involved was registered TC-MCL, and that it was operating flight TK6491.
Images purporting to be from the crash scene show fires burning in a suburban area at night. Subsequent images, taken after the break of day, show the aircraft’s tail separated from the aircraft, resting upside down on top of a house. Most of the aircraft’s two horizontal stabilizers appear to have been shorn off.
These images indicate snowy conditions with low visibility.
Flight Fleets Analyzer indicates that the jet, which is powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, is managed by Lease Corporation International, who in turn leases it to Istanbul's myCargo Airlines. The aircraft served with Singapore Airlines Cargo as 9V-SFL from 2003 to 2013, and was also operated for Qatar Airways during 2016.
MyCARGO is an Istanbul Ataturk airport-based cargo airline and a HNA Group subsidiary. The airline offers international air cargo charter services, as well as aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) wet leasing, and dry leasing services. MyCargo has not released a statement about the crash.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
