One killed in helicopter crash off Istanbul coast

ISTANBUL

A helicopter crashed off the coast of Bostancı neighborhood in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district on Sept. 6, killing a passenger, Demirören News Agency reported.

The helicopter belonged to Ünver Aviation company and was on its way from Kartal district on Istanbul’s Asian side to the Sefaköy neighborhood of Küçükçekmece district on the city’s European side.

“I tried hard to crash land the helicopter into the sea, but I couldn’t,” local media quoted the helicopter pilot as saying while he was being transferred to hospital.

The company's owner and Otokar board member Halil Ünver died after he was hospitalized following the crash.

Treatment of the pilot İsmet Özgür is ongoing at Lütfi Kırdar Kartal Training and Research Hospital, according to the hospital’s Chief Physician Prof. Dr. Recep Demirhan.

“The technical teams have carried out the necessary analysis at the scene of the crash,” the Istanbul Governor’s Office said in a statement.