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Report blames pilot error
Pilot error as well as “the lack of terrain awareness” have been blamed for a fatal US Marine Corps chopper crash on the Kalinchok mountain in Sindhupalchok on May 12Sangam Prasain
Thirteen individuals, including five civilians and two Nepal Army personnel, were on board the Huey UH-1Y chopper that dispatched for a relief operation in Dolakha district. There was no damage to third-party property. The wreckage of the chopper was found after days of intense search.
The report submitted to Tourism Minister Kripasur Sherpa on Friday said the pilot’s lack of understanding on specific and severity of weather condition in the Kalinchok mountain range resulted in the crash.
The pilot flew inadvertently into fast-building clouds and up-drafting winds over Kalinchok Mountain, losing situational awareness and control of the aircraft, following which the aircraft hit the terrain at an altitude of 11, 200ft, stated the report.
The nature of the crash was—Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT). This means a state of flight when the pilots have full control of the flight and yet the plane hits terrain.
According to the report, the chopper inadvertently entered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) from visual flight rules (VFR).
VFR are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see outside the cockpit to control the aircraft’s altitude, navigate, and avoid obstacles.
Flights under the VFR condition are not permitted to enter the IMC unless the aircraft gains height or clear the surrounding terrain and it is the violation of the rules, aviation experts said. “The pilot loses sight of the ground, if s/he subsequently enters into IMC from VFR.”
The report said that
while navigating along the vast terrain and adverse weather condition, the chopper hit the vertical granite face of the mountain.
The aircraft first sheared five inch tree trunk with main rotor blade and slammed into the ground at around 2:50pm. Had the chopper been 50ft above its existing flying position, the crash should have been aborted, said an official of the Tourism Ministry.
The chopper had landed at Singati at 2:35pm and evacuated five injured civilian from there. There were two US Marine photographers onboard the aircraft.
The video footage showed besides five injured civilian, another civilian was trying to board the flight, but was off-loaded. The report, however, has not pointed out overloading factor for the crash.
Initially, the Nepal Army had refuted claims that civilian were also killed onboard. However, DNA tests and investigations by experts from both countries confirmed that five other people on the chopper were local villagers.
The accident investigation board was formed on May 20 and it was carried out under the Aircraft Accident Investigation Procedure Manual of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan).