Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said all but ruled out weather conditions as playing a part in the crash.
 

NTV - 30 November 2007 No survivors have been found at the scene of the crash of a Turkish Atlasjet airlines flight, which came down just outside the Mediterranean city of Ispata early Friday morning, officials have confirmed.

The aircraft, en route from Istanbul to Isparta, crashed as it was approaching Isparta’s Suleyman Demirel Airport at around 1:45am. The plane, a McDonald Douglas 83, was carrying 49 passengers and seven crew.

According to Isparta Governor Semsettin Uzun, military aircraft located the wreckage of the plane wreckage on a 1,830-metre high hill in the Turbetepe of Keciborlu, some ten kilometres from its destination.

Search and rescue teams arrived at the site at dawn, and reported that there were no survivors from the crash.

Debris from the crash are spread over a wide area, Tayyar Sasmaz, the deputy governor of Isparta, said the plane disappeared from radar screens between 1:45 and 2:00am as it was coming into land at Isparta airport.

“When the aircraft approached the airport to land, the tower gave permission but then the tower lost communication with the plane,” Sasmaz told reporters.

Tuncay Doganer, the chief executive officer of Atlasjet, said the cause of the crash had not been determined. However, he said there was no fog or strong winds at the time of the crash.

Atlasjet officials named the seven crew on the flight as: Ferhat Ozdemir, Fahir Aksoy, Cagatay Sirin, Mana Topcu, Sinem Hatice Vurgun, Alaattin Gurturk and Mumine Bulut.

The names of the passengers have also been released. There were: Ozlem Karatas, Nuri Tigli, Bahri Ondurucu, M.Rafi Taskent, Muhsin Ondurucu, Sakir Ozsoy, Kasim Mehmet Saygili, Perihan Kutlu, Sinem Kutlu, Aysun Fatime Balci, Mustafa Zengi, Davut Demirkurt, Hayri Tokgoz, Tevfik Buyukcayli, Mehmet Yigitbasi, Zeliha Yigitbasi, Ozgen Berkol Dogan, Engin Abat, Engin Arik, Sibel Uysal, Mehmet Yilmaz, Necati Kartal, Saniye Kartal, Hakan Ulutas, Iskender Hikmet, Senel Fatma Boydag, Fahrettin Ogurlu, Ozcan Ogurlu, Hakan Yakup Tullu, Alp Tezcan, Oguz Cafer Ciftci, Yusuf Ciftci, Nazire Kurnaz, Gozen Polat, Mustafa Fidan, Dogan Goktas, Hazal Kaynak, Isa Cobankaya, Saniye Cobankaya, Yasar Cobankaya, Burhan Tepebasi, Rusen Mustafa Hamza Hemreli, Fuat Guler, Mustafa Caliskan, Kenan Buyuk, Suleyman Hilal, Ayse Canturk, Melike Ceylan, Sadettin Baysal.