30 May, 2018

British man dies after falling from aircraft at Turkish airport

It has been confirmed that a 30-year-old British tourist from County Durham has died after falling from an aircraft at Dalaman airport in the south-west region of Turkey early on Tuesday 29th May. 

According to local media reports, it appears the man fell from the door whilst airport staff tried to remove him from the Jet2 flight. First aid was given to the man at the scene, he was unconscious and was transferred to a local hospital.  Whilst under the care of the Turkish medics he was found to have at least three broken ribs. Local state media is reporting the man, Andrew Westlake, from County Durham, never regained consciousness and died sometime later on Tuesday. 

A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said,  “We are supporting the family of a British man following his death in Turkey and are in touch with the local authorities.”

The heavily controlled state-run media are reporting that the man had been stuck at the airport in Dalaman for over three days after losing his ticket and waiting for an available seat home. The south-west region of Turkey remains popular with British and northern European tourists, with resorts such as Fethiye, Olu Deniz and Marmaris year-round destinations. After the man was finally boarding the aircraft at approximately 3am local time he became argumentative with cabin crew and was ordered off the plane for being a risk to flight safety.

Police are investigating the incident and the airline concerned, Jet2, has released a statement confirming that one of their customers died at the airport. However, its statment contradicted local media reports, they said the man was not injured on or in the vicinity of their aircraft, but died in the airport terminal.

A spokesperson for Durham Constabulary said: "Our officers passed the devastating news to the family who we are supporting. "Our thoughts are with Andrew's family and friends." 


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