Turkish Air Plane Mistakenly Lands At Georgia Base

A Turkish Airlines aircraft apparently mistakenly landed at a military air base in Georgia on Wednesday, airport and airline sources said.

Pilot error probably caused the aircraft, traveling from Istanbul to Tbilisi, to land at the base located some 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the main passenger airport, a Turkish Airlines source, who declined to be named, said.

The Turkish state-run Anatolian news agency said 69 people were on board the Boeing aircraft. An aviation sector official in Istanbul confirmed the aircraft landed at the wrong airport.

"The plane was mistakenly landed at the military airport," the official said, on condition his name not be used. "It could be that the pilot confused the airports."

No further details were available.

Turkish Airlines declined to comment officially on the reported incident.