2009 Medair TC-HEK helicopter crash
A Bell 206L-4 Lone Ranger similar to the one involved in the incident.
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 25, 2009 |
| Summary | Under investigation |
| Site | Mount Keş, Göksun Kahramanmaraş, Turkey 37°52′12″N 36°40′12″E / 37.87000°N 36.67000°ECoordinates: 37°52′12″N 36°40′12″E / 37.87000°N 36.67000°E |
| Passengers | 5 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 6 |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Bell 206L-4 LongRanger |
| Operator | Medair |
| Registration | TC-HEK |
| Flight origin | Sivas |
| Stopover | Çağlayancerit, Kahramanmaraş |
| Destination | Yerköy, Yozgat |
The 2009 Medair TC-HEK helicopter crash occurred on March 25, 2009 at around 16:00 EET (14:00 UTC) when a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, tail number TC-HEK, operated by Medair while on a charter flight en route from Çağlayancerit in Kahramanmaraş Province to Yerköy in Yozgat Province struck Mount Keş in central Turkey. The pilot and four passengers, including the leader of the Great Union Party (BBP) Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, were killed in the accident. Only one passenger survived the crash with injuries and made an emergency call. Due to harsh weather conditions at the crash site, the victims and the wreckage could be recovered only after two days, and the injured passenger was found dead five days later under snow.
The helicopter was chartered by the local leaders of a minor political party, the Great Union Party (Turkish: Büyük Birlik Partisi), to enable their party leader Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu to attend political rallies held on the same day in neighboring provinces as part of the campaign for the 2009 local elections. Accompanied by his party's three local leaders from Sivas Province and a news agency reporter, Yazıcıoğlu arrived in Çağlayancerit on March 25, 2009 at 13:00 EET (11:00 UCT) by helicopter, to make a speech. He told the crowd of 1,500 people gathered in the town square that it was the first time his party had chartered a helicopter, and this without any financial support from the state treasury.
As the rally in Çağlayancerit was going on, the helicopter was refueled at 13:30 local time at the Kahramanmaraş Airport. Piloted by Kaya İstektepe and carrying five passengers, it then lifted off at 14:42 to head for Yerköy, where Yazıcıoğle had his next speech scheduled at 17:00. The helicopter did not arrive, and the crowd of 3,000 people gathered in the Station Square (Turkish: İstasyon Meydanı) in Yerköy became worried. A short time later, the deputy leader of the BBP made the sad announcement that the helicopter carrying Yazıcıoğlu and his party members was missing.
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Wikipedia