A method for operating a wind turbine comprising: (a) monitoring a wind turbine including: receiving at least one value of at least one sensor and comparing the at least one value with at least one reference; and determining depending on the comparison between the at least one value with at least one reference whether a malfunction of the wind turbine is present; (b) determining the cause of the malfunction of the wind turbine depending on at least one of: the sensor type of the at least one sensor or the at least one measured value, wherein the cause determination includes: automatically creating a first list comprising at least one possible cause of the malfunction depending on at least one of the sensor type of the at least one sensor or the at least one measured value; and automatically selecting a cause from the first list based on a priority parameter; and automatically creating a second list comprising a sequence of at least two steps for handling the malfunction, wherein a first step of the second list is based on the cause selected from the first list and a second step of the second list is automatically determined based on a result of the first step; wherein the priority parameter is an impact of the cause on energy production, or a likelihood of severe damage to the wind turbine due to the cause. (a) monitoring a wind turbine including: receiving at least one value of at least one sensor and comparing the at least one value with at least one reference; and determining depending on the comparison between the at least one value with at least one reference whether a malfunction of the wind turbine is present; receiving at least one value of at least one sensor and comparing the at least one value with at least one reference; and determining depending on the comparison between the at least one value with at least one reference whether a malfunction of the wind turbine is present; (b) determining the cause of the malfunction of the wind turbine depending on at least one of: the sensor type of the at least one sensor or the at least one measured value, wherein the cause determination includes: automatically creating a first list comprising at least one possible cause of the malfunction depending on at least one of the sensor type of the at least one sensor or the at least one measured value; and automatically selecting a cause from the first list based on a priority parameter; and automatically creating a second list comprising a sequence of at least two steps for handling the malfunction, wherein a first step of the second list is based on the cause selected from the first list and a second step of the second list is automatically determined based on a result of the first step; wherein the priority parameter is an impact of the cause on energy production, or a likelihood of severe damage to the wind turbine due to the cause. automatically creating a first list comprising at least one possible cause of the malfunction depending on at least one of the sensor type of the at least one sensor or the at least one measured value; and automatically selecting a cause from the first list based on a priority parameter; and automatically creating a second list comprising a sequence of at least two steps for handling the malfunction, wherein a first step of the second list is based on the cause selected from the first list and a second step of the second list is automatically determined based on a result of the first step; wherein the priority parameter is an impact of the cause on energy production, or a likelihood of severe damage to the wind turbine due to the cause.