Summary

  • Fugitives tied to Atlasjet crash arrested after years on the loose.
  • World Focus Airways partner caught with fake ID at Istanbul Airport.
  • Second fugitive attempting to flee to Casablanca detained in Frankfurt.

Two fugitives on the run following convictions for their role in the crash of an Atlasjet MD-83 in 2007 have been arrested in the space of a week. A former partner of the leasing company that provided the aircraft was caught with a fake ID at Istanbul Airport before another man was detained in Frankfurt.

Atlasjet leasing partner caught

Following the crash of Atlasjet Flight 4203 from Istanbul to Isparta on November 30th, 2007, it was found that the MD-83 aircraft was fitted with a malfunctioning ground proximity warning system (GPWS) that would have given crew warning of their impending impact into terrain – not only this, but Atlasjet and World Airways knew the GPWS was faulty and deliberately omitted it from logs, and both the captain and first officer had never flown to Isparta before and were considered highly inexperienced for the aircraft type.

According to a report from Diken, 57-year-old Yavuz Çizmeci – a partner at leasing firm World Focus Airways, which supplied the MD-83 to Atlasjet – was nabbed at Istanbul Airport (IST) while trying to catch a domestic flight to Gaziantep. Çizmeci was one of 20 World Focus employees charged during high-profile criminal proceedings in Turkey and was ultimately handed an 11-year and eight-month prison sentence for his role in the crash.

However, Çizmeci fled from authorities and has essentially been on the run for the past 17 years. After being arrested, Çizmeci was processed at a courthouse and will immediately begin serving his almost 12-year prison sentence. The police reportedly became suspicious of the fugitive’s behavior inside the airport and conducted a search and identity check. After noticing something didn’t seem right about the photograph used for the passport of an “İbrahim Özkan”, authorities conducted a fingerprint check, which confirmed Çizmeci’s identity.

Despite formally being on the run, Çizmeci managed to found Turkish MRO company myTECHNIC in 2008 out of Istanbul’s second airport, Sabiha Gokcen, later selling it to Chinese conglomerate HNA Group in 2010.

A second arrest

According to a release from the Federal Police Directorate Frankfurt am Main Airport, a second fugitive connected to the crash was arrested at Frankfurt Airport (FRA). The unnamed 56-year-old Turkish man had taken up Gambian citizenship since fleeing Turkey and was caught trying to fly to Casablanca. The individual is said to have been a General Manager responsible for the technical inspection of aircraft and the training of pilots.

The arrested individual is now awaiting extradition to Turkey, where he will likely start serving his 11-year, eight-month sentence, much like Çizmeci. At the end of the World Focus trial, eight individuals were found guilty and sentenced to prison, while the remaining 12 employees were acquitted of all charges. As for the fate of Atlasjet, the carrier rebranded itself in the wake of the 2007 crash, eventually becoming AtlasGlobal in 2015 before folding in February 2020 following months of financial troubles.

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