2017 Swan Aviation Sikorsky S-76 crash
Sikorsky S-76C++ · Controlled flight into terrain
From İstanbul Atatürk Airport (ISL) to Bozüyük, Bilecik, Turkey
Event
- NTSB case
- ERA17WA127
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Unknown · Ulaşım Emniyeti İnceleme Merkezi Başkanlığı official statement, 14 Aug 2020
- Event fatalities
- 7 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 7
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 0 serious · 0 minor (NTSB)
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Charter & commuter
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Not recorded
Sikorsky S-76C++
- Aircraft type
- Sikorsky S-76
- Category
- Helicopter
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- TC-HEZ
- Operator
- Swan Aviation
- Onboard fatalities
- 7
- Route
- From İstanbul Atatürk Airport (ISL)To Bozüyük, Bilecik, Turkey
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Non-U.S., Commercial
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Takeoff
- Defining eventThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Collision during takeoff/landing
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Destroyed
Cause areas
No findings designated as a cause are recorded in the NTSB data yet.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
On 10 March 2017, a Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter on a private charter flight crashed in Istanbul, Turkey, killing all 7 people on board.
Background
The helicopter, operated by Swan Aviation for the private use of Eczacıbaşı Holding, was scheduled to fly from Istanbul to the Bozüyük office of the company, located in northwestern Turkey.
The helicopter was carrying two pilots, a Turkish businessman from the Eczacibasi group and four Russian guests of the company for a meeting at Bozuyuk facilities scheduled at noon.
The aircraft was a Sikorsky S-76C++, with tail number TC-HEZ, manufactured in 2008.
Crash
The helicopter had departed Istanbul-Atatürk Airport at 11:15 local time in heavy fog. Six minutes after the takeoff, it hit the Endem TV Tower and crashed onto the nearby State Road D100 highway. All seven people on board were killed.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
In the aftermath of the crash, Directorate General of Civil Aviation informed the press that investigation was ongoing, but poor visibility conditions and the heavy fog were probably the main cause of the accident. Additionally, it was not clear why the pilots were flying near the tower, which was clearly stated on maps as "no-fly" zone and most experienced pilots were already aware of the height and location of the tower.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2017 Swan Aviation Sikorsky S-76 crash” (revision 1359937680, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
NTSB narrative
On March 10, 2017, at 0821 coordinated universal time, a Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter, Turkish registration TC-HEZ, was destroyed shortly after takeoff from the Istanbul Ataturk Airport (LTBA), Istanbul, Turkey. The two pilots and the five passengers were fatally injured. The flight was destined for Bozoyuk, Turkey.
The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Turkish Government. Any further information pertaining to the accident can be obtained from:
Ministry of Transport Maritime Affairs and Communications Accident Investigation Board Hanimeli S. No. 7 06430 Sihhiye Ankara Turkey
Tel.: (90) 312 203-1431 Fax: (90) 312 229-7289
This report is for informational purposes and contains only information released by the Turkish Government.
Verbatim NTSB factual narrative from the NTSB dataset
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2017 Swan Aviation Sikorsky S-76 crash
- Revision
- 1359937680 · 2026-06-18 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q29002461
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
NTSB record ERA17WA127
- Event ID
- 20170310X32632
- Case number
- ERA17WA127
- Dataset
- full-current
- Source SHA-256
- 5cf380f0061817c0331a6b2d8cc7e0ee3a79bea469a1001dc5c10e56f35f5ab3
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2017 Swan Aviation Sikorsky S-76 crash" (page 53755550, revision 1359937680); merged with NTSB case ERA17WA127 (events / aircraft)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date; matches the Ulaşım Emniyeti İnceleme Merkezi Başkanlığı (Transport Safety Investigation Center), Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Türkiye official statement
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia: Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports); gaps and aircraft details from NTSB record ERA17WA127
- Operation
- Reviewed correction (2026-09-26): A helicopter operator flying a company's staff and guests on a private charter flight: on-demand helicopter charter. The article: "a Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter on a private charter flight crashed in Istanbul"
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia: Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities; matches the Ulaşım Emniyeti İnceleme Merkezi Başkanlığı (Transport Safety Investigation Center), Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Türkiye official statement
- Ground fatalities
- Wikipedia: not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (3)
- One occurrence in two sources, merged: the Wikipedia article "2017 Swan Aviation Sikorsky S-76 crash" and NTSB case ERA17WA127, matched by the same aircraft registration and date. For this event outside the United States Wikipedia's values are used where the two differ; each value names its source.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: coordinates. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- Checked against the Ulaşım Emniyeti İnceleme Merkezi Başkanlığı (Transport Safety Investigation Center), Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Türkiye official statement (2020-08-14) on 2026-09-18. The report states the same date, fatalities, registration, departure and destination. Shown unchanged where the report gives another value or wording: operator (shown Swan Aviation; report Kuğu Havacılık ve Turizm A.Ş.). Not checked: place, crash-site coordinates, flight number, aircraft type, damage, type of operation and ground fatalities.