US aviation investigators have arrived at the site of a plane crash in Istanbul that left three Turkish citizens dead, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported Saturday.
A team from aircraft manufacturer Boeing and the US civil aviation authority inspected the wreckage of the Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737 that skidded off a runway at Sabiha Gokcen airport on Wednesday evening during strong winds and heavy rain.
A report on the crash, in which 180 passengers and crew members were injured, is expected in a month's time, Anadolu reported.
According to the agency, the aircraft, which split into three pieces in the accident, will be dismantled and removed by crane.
The US team is looking to see if there were any technical factors that could have contributed to the accident of the 11-year-old aircraft, Anadolu reported.
Investigators are examining many possible causes, including the plane's speed and the weather at the time of the crash.
On Thursday, low-coast carrier Pegasus Airlines CEO Mehmet T. Nane said the plane's black boxes had been recovered and the data from them was being deciphered.
Prosecutors have taken statements from air traffic control staff, airport employees and the pilots of two other planes that aborted landings shortly before the Pegasus flight landed.
The pilots of the Boeing 737 are among those in hospital and will give statements to police after their treatment is complete, TRT broadcaster reported Thursday.
