A Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount crashes near Gatwick Airport, killing 14; Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes survives the crash.

Turkish Airlines, or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. As of June 2024, it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Americas. The airline serves more destinations non-stop from a single airport than any other airline in the world and flies to 131 countries, more than any other airline. With an operational fleet of 24 cargo aircraft, the airline's cargo division Turkish Cargo serves 82 destinations. The airline also owns a low-cost subsidiary, AJet.

The Vickers Viscount is a retired British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner.

On 17 February 1959, a Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount Type 793 on an international charter flight from Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, to London Heathrow Airport diverted to London Gatwick Airport, United Kingdom due to heavy fog. It was carrying the Turkish prime minister and a party of government officials. The Viscount crashed in a wood 3 miles (4.8 km) from the threshold of Gatwick runway during its final approach to land in extensive fog. Five of the eight crew and nine of the 16 passengers died in the crash. The prime minister was among the ten survivors.

Gatwick Airport, also known as London Gatwick Airport, is the secondary international airport serving London, Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, 30 miles (48 km) south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwick was the second-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Heathrow Airport, and was the 10th-busiest in Europe by total passenger traffic. It covers a total area of 674 hectares.