Nepal’s aviation regulator is investigating a collision between two helicopters attempting to land in the Everest region that killed an Indian passenger and left conflicting accounts of the number injured.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) identified the aircraft as Air Dynasty helicopter 9N-AOD and Fishtail Air helicopter 9N-AJR. A 47-year-old Indian passenger aboard the Fishtail Air helicopter died, CAAN said. Nepal News reported, citing CAAN, that three people were injured: a New Zealand passenger and both pilots. The Associated Press reported two injuries, to a passenger and one Nepali pilot.
CAAN said the collision occurred at about 8:12 a.m. Nepal time (2:27 a.m. UTC) on Nov. 3. The cause has not been established. CAAN Director General Mukesh Dangol told The Kathmandu Post that preliminary information pointed to possible miscommunication between the pilots. Dangol said Lukla Airport’s air traffic control tower does not cover the landing area.
Pheriche is on the route to Everest base camp. The Associated Press said reaching base camp can take up to two weeks, and reported that helicopters help evacuate people who become ill or too exhausted to continue at high altitude.
The Kathmandu Post also described a separate debate over helicopter traffic in the Everest region. Local communities have raised concerns about environmental disturbance and lost work for guides and porters, while tourism businesses have warned that limits on sightseeing flights could hurt high-end tourism, the paper reported. It did not connect that dispute to the collision.
The paper cited a 2015 Mountain Air crash in which investigators considered sun glare; that earlier case does not establish a cause in Pheriche. CAAN has opened an investigation. The new passenger details and injury accounts update EconoTimes’ earlier coverage of the collision.
