Helicopter Crash in Nepal Kills 5 People
A helicopter crash in central Nepal has resulted in the deaths of the pilot and four Chinese passengers.
The Air Dynasty helicopter lost contact approximately three minutes after takeoff and crashed in the Nuwakot district, north of the capital Kathmandu, today, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
“All five people on board, including the pilot, have died,” said Dan Bahadur Karki, a local police spokesperson. Police added that all five bodies have been recovered from the crash site.
The helicopter was en route to Syabrubesi, the starting point for many popular trekking routes among tourists.
Nepal’s aviation industry has grown rapidly in recent years, transporting goods and passengers to remote areas and catering to trekkers and mountaineers. However, the sector has been plagued by safety issues due to inadequate training and maintenance. The challenging terrain of Nepal exacerbates the severity of aviation incidents.
Nepal is home to some of the world’s most remote and difficult-to-access runways, surrounded by snow-covered peaks, presenting significant challenges even for experienced pilots. The European Union has banned all Nepalese airlines from its airspace over safety concerns.
Today’s helicopter crash occurred two weeks after a plane crash in Kathmandu, which claimed the lives of all 18 people on board except for the pilot.
The most recent major commercial aviation accident in Nepal happened in January 2023, when a Yeti Airlines flight crashed while landing in Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board. This was the deadliest aviation accident in Nepal since 1992, when 167 people died in a Pakistan International Airlines crash while landing in Kathmandu. Earlier that year, a Thai Airways plane crash near the same airport killed 113 people.
