A Fishtail Air helicopter crashed into a cliff at Betini of Madanpur-9 in Nuwakot district on Monday afternoon, killing all seven people, including a baby, on board.

The chopper with call sign 9N-AKA, which had taken off from Gorkha for Kathmandu, had established last contact with the air traffic controller at 12:32pm, according to the Tribhuvan International Airport.

The chopper was chartered to fly the five-day-old baby to Kathmandu for treatment.

Captain Ranjan Limbu, Nisha Tamang, a nurse, Laxmi Gurung, Kitman Gurung, Aagyani Gurung, Priti Gurung and her five-day-old son were killed in the tragedy.

The chopper had burst into flames after a deadly impact on the cliff, said Sanjiv Gautam, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan), citing field reports. The wreckage of the helicopter was found at Betini at 5,300 feet, with all people burnt to death.

Initial reports suggest the chopper was forced to circle over the Nuwakot skies for many times. “It had entered the cloud,” said Gautam. “The captain might have lost situational awareness and lost control of the aircraft.”

Suresh Acharya, joint-secretary at the Tourism Ministry, who heads the aviation safety division, said the helicopter had established contacts with the air traffic controller from the same location which it had reported 10 minutes earlier.

“This suggests the chopper had made a frequent rotation over the Nuwakot skies for 10 minutes,” he said. 

The Caan said the en-route weather was “not fair enough to fly”. It also created difficulties for the search and rescue operations.

Monday’s crash, the fourth in less than six months with 32 casualties, comes as yet another blow to the country’s safety record. This is 17th fatal accident of helicopters in Nepal since 1966 and the third highest casualty recorded on the Nepali registered civilian helicopters.

Major helicopter accidents

Year       Operator                              Place                       Fatalities

1966       Private                                 Janakpur                      2

1979       VVIP                                   Langtang                      6

1997       Karnali Air                            Solukhumbu                 1 

1998       Asian Airlines                        Mulkhark                    3

2001       Fishtail Air                            Rara Lake                   4

2002       Asian Airlines                       Mt Makalu                  10

2003       Simrik Air                           Everest Base Camp         2

2003       Nepal Army                         Makwanpur                  19

2005       Air Dynasty                         Ramechhap                  3

2006       Shree Airlines                      Taplejung                    24

2008       UNMIN                                  Ramechhap             10

2009       Manang Air                                Humla                    1

2010       Fishtail Air                              Ama Dablam             2

2013       Fishtail Air                              Humla                       1

2015       Mountain Helicopters                Sindhupalchok  4

2015       US Marine Corps                        Dolakha                13

(Sources: Aviation Safety Network and Caan)