On Nov. 30, an Atlasjet Airlines MD-83 outbound from Istanbul crashed early morning during its approach to Isparta Airport in southern Turkey, killing all 57 passengers and crew onboard.

The crash site was located in mountainous terrain approximately 7 mi. from Isparta. The aircraft, which was wet-leased from World Focus Airlines, departed IST at 12:50 a.m., 90 min. late owing to its late arrival inbound from Pristina, according to Atlasjet. The crash occurred about 45 min. after takeoff. Published reports described weather as clear and moonlit.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in widely reported televised remarks that while the crash's cause is "not yet certain," officials "suspect the plane's tail hit a hilltop and that the aircraft fell on its fuselage with the force of the impact." According to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network, "Local officials said the plane had broken into two pieces, with its fuselage and rear landing in different locations ... the plane's wings and engine were at the top of a hill while the fuselage was 500 ft. lower."

The pilots and some cabin staff worked for Istanbul-based charter operator World Focus while three flight attendants worked for Atlasjet, which operates scheduled domestic services from a base in Istanbul to 13 destinations in Turkey and charter flights to destinations in Europe and the Middle East.

According to a statement from Atlasjet CEO Tuncay Doganer, communication with the flight crew was lost after the aircraft began its approach to land. He added that search and rescue teams initially were "having difficulty" reaching the mountainous area where the crash occurred.