756,000 Turkish Liras to be paid to family of late Turkish politician killed in helicopter crash

KAHRAMANMARAŞ – Anadolu Agency

The helicopter carrying Yazıcıoğlu crashed in a mountainous region in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş while it was traveling from an election rally on March 25, 2009.

A Kahramanmaraş court has ordered an aviation company to pay 756,000 Turkish Liras of compensation to the family of late Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, former head of the Great Union Party (BBP), who had died in a helicopter crash in 2009.

Esas Aerial Transportation and Tourism Company will pay Yazıcıoğlu’s wife and children 206,000 liras for pecuniary damages and 550,000 liras for non-pecuniary damages.

The company was also ordered to pay 75,000 liras to each of the eight family members of the other two people who were killed in the same accident, raising the total compensation to 1,356,000 liras.

The court also ruled that the insurance company would pay the money defined by the insurance policy to the families, including the legal interest charged since the accident happened.

The helicopter carrying Yazıcıoğlu crashed in a mountainous region in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş while it was traveling from an election rally on March 25, 2009. All five passengers in the helicopter and the pilot were found dead when the wreckage was located 47 hours later, including journalist İsmail Güneş, who called for help before succumbing to the injuries he sustained in the accident.

The delay in reaching the wreckage caused uproar in some circles, leading to allegations that Yazıcıoğlu had been deliberately left to die, while later reports also indicated that flight record devices had been removed from the helicopter with a screwdriver after the accident.

Güneş’s family also filed a lawsuit to claim damages against the aviation company in Istanbul.