Airbone in an Unlikely Way: 65-Tons Plane Lifted by Cranes after Crash

Fortunately, no one was hurt during the incident and, so far, investigators have not found the cause of the event. For now, the likely reason is a sudden surge in the speed of one of the airplane's engines. Regardless, the 737 ended up nose down on an incline close to the Trabzon Airport in northern Turkey.

“We tilted to the side; the front was down while the plane’s rear was up. There was panic; people shouting, screaming,” Fatma Gordu, one of the passengers on the flight, was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Anadolu.

The plane had to be retrieved, of course, after investigators have finished their initial assessments. Since it couldn't merely be towed, due to its peculiar position on a small hill adjacent to the black see, the 737 had to be lifted back to level ground.

For that task, Turkish authorities had to bring in two high-capacity cranes. As the cranes were lifting their load, construction vehicles were leveling the dirt that represents the end of the runway on the Trabzon airport. Five fire engines are on seen standing on standby should anything go wrong.

The plane is seen here taking to the air using crane is part of Boeing's third generation of the 737. The aircraft can seat 162 passengers in a two-class layout or 189 passengers in a one-class layout.

This version of the 737 weighs 41 tons while empty, and can take off with a maximum weight of 78 tons. At landing, as in the case of the plane you can see in the video below, the 737's operating weight is estimated at 65 tons.