Nepal Forms Probe Committee After Fatal Helicopter Crash

The Nepalese government has set up a three-member committee to investigate a helicopter crash in the hills of Nepal that killed all five people on board. The committee has 30 days to submit its findings. This is the second aviation accident in less than two weeks in Nepal.

The Nepal government has formed a three-membered committee to investigate the second aviation accident after a helicopter crashed into the hills of Nepal on Wednesday, killing all five on board. An emergency cabinet meeting held earlier in the afternoon, soon after the crash of the Air Dynasty helicopter, initiated the committee formation, led by Senior Nepal Army Pilot Subhash Thapa.

'A three-membered committee has been formed to investigate the reason for the crash. The committee has 30 days to submit the report,' confirmed Prithivi Subba Gurung, the government spokesperson, to ANI. The other committee members are aeronautical engineer Bishnu Basnet and Tanuja Pokharel.

The crash on Wednesday came less than a fortnight after the Saurya Airlines crash on July 24 claimed 18 lives at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. The Air Dynasty helicopter, carrying four Chinese nationals and a Nepali pilot, went down the slopes of a mist-covered mountain during the monsoon season.

'I was in the kitchen when I heard a helicopter passing by twice. Helicopters usually land at the top of the hill, but two of my neighbors came running, saying a helicopter had crashed. I ran to the site, reaching just as the helicopter was engulfed in fire, with four dead bodies scattered,' recounted Harilal Pantha, one of the first responders and witnesses, to ANI. 'We tried to prevent the bodies from burning further by throwing soil on them. It was all we could do,' he added.

Security personnel combed through the chopper wreckage which had landed on the forested slopes without proper safety equipment. Witnesses reported the helicopter was on fire when they arrived at the dense, thorn-covered crash site. 'My wife called me in a panic, saying the helicopter had crashed. When I arrived, the helicopter was in flames, and the bodies were beyond recognition,' said Santa Bahadur, a local resident of Suryachaur, to ANI.

The crash occurred in the Shivapuri National Park area, within 20 nautical miles of Tribhuvan International Airport, the departure point. As per the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the chopper lost contact with the control tower within three minutes of take-off.

The 9N-AJD Air Dynasty chopper took off from Kathmandu at 1:54 pm, aiming for Syaprubesi, Rasuwa, a flight that typically lasts 15 to 20 minutes. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)