Meteorological analysis of a fatal Istanbul helicopter accident on March 10, 2017

On March 10, 2017, a helicopter belonging to a private company departed Atatürk International Airport and crashed into a TV tower at a height of 217 metres. Then, at 0821 UTC, the helicopter fell over onto the E5 Motorway. Seven people died in the accident. The purpose of this study is to investigate the meteorological aspects of this accident. There were several meteorological conditions of note at the time of the accident which led to poor vertical visibility. The upper 146 metres of the TV tower are in the stratus clouds. Surface and upper level weather and sounding charts were used in this study. Also, satellite products were analysed. Based on the results of this study, the atmospheric conditions were stable at the time of the accident. Additionally, analysis of satellite products indicated that cloud thickness was between 1,300-2,800 m and the cloud optical depth was limited.