Panic aboard Athens-Constantinople flight

More specifically, during the approach for landing at Constantinople, an alarm hailing emergency water landing aboard flight TK-180. The alarm was followed by instructions to passengers, in Turkish and English, to prepare for the event.

According to Turkish media the panic was caused when one of the stewards, by mistake, pressed the corresponding emergency switch.

A member of the crew was quoted as saying: “We were shocked, while most passengers began praying.”

The tension was heightened as despite efforts by crew to calm passengers down, the plane continued to circle the area in a holding pattern for twenty minutes, waiting its turn to land.

The landing was eventless, but dismayed passengers hugged each other in relief on reaching the ground.