Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 23 September 2006 |
Summary | Pilot error along with poor airline training [1] |
Site | Ghunsa, Nepal |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Mil Mi-8 |
Operator | Shree Air |
Registration | 9N-AHJ |
Flight origin | Phungling, Nepal |
Destination | Ghunsa, Nepal |
Occupants | 24 |
Passengers | 20 |
Crew | 4 |
Fatalities | 24 |
Survivors | 0 |
On 23 September 2006, a Shree Air Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashed on a chartered flight from Phungling to Ghunsa in Eastern Nepal. The accident killed all 24 passengers and crew on board, including an expedition of World Wide Fund for Nature. [1]
The helicopter involved with the accident was a Mil Mi-8 MTV 1.
On board the helicopter was an expedition of World Wide Fund for Nature returning from an conservation event in Taplejung District, where the Government of Nepal handed the management of the park around Kanchenjunga to the local people. The WWF team included Chandra Gurung and Harka Gurung. Other passengers on board the ill-fated helicopter included politician Gopal Rai. [2] [3]
Country | Deaths (Crew) | Deaths (Passengers) |
---|---|---|
Nepal | 2 | 14 |
Russia | 2 | 0 |
UK | 0 | 1 |
USA | 0 | 2 |
Canada | 0 | 1 |
Australia | 0 | 1 |
Finland | 0 | 1 |
Total | 4 | 20 |
The helicopter took off at 10:45 NPT on 23 September 2006. Shortly afterwards, the helicopter was declared missing. Two days later, the wreckage of the helicopter was found south-west of Ghunsa. [4] Bad weather was assumed to have caused the crash at the beginning. [5]
The final report on the accident the committee of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal stated that the pilots entering cloudy areas in unfamiliar terrain as well as bad crew resource management were the main causes of the accident. It furthermore criticized the operating airline, Shree Air, on their training proceedings. [1]
A day of mourning was observed throughout Nepal and schools and public offices were closed on 27 September 2006. [5]
This is a list of aviation-related events from 2002.
The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. Russian production of the aircraft model still continues as of 2024. In addition to its most common role as a transport helicopter, the Mi-8 is also used as an airborne command post, armed gunship, and reconnaissance platform.
Nepal Airlines Corporation, formerly known as Royal Nepal Airlines, is the flag carrier of Nepal. Founded in 1958, it is the oldest airline of the country. Out of its main base at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, the airline operates domestic services within Nepal and medium-haul services in Asia. The airline's first aircraft was a Douglas DC-3, used to serve domestic routes and a handful of destinations in India. The airline acquired its first jet aircraft, Boeing 727s, in 1972. As of February 2023, the airline operates a fleet of six aircraft. Since 2013, the airline has been on the list of air carriers banned in the European Union.
Tribhuvan International Airport is an international airport located in Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal. It has a tabletop runway, a domestic terminal and an international terminal. As the country's main international airport, it connects Nepal to over 40 destinations in 17 countries.
Tenzing-Hillary Airport, also known as Lukla Airport, is a domestic airport and altiport in the town of Lukla, in Khumbu Pasanglhamu, Solukhumbu District, Koshi Province of Nepal. The airport has gained worldwide fame, both for its unusual location, but also because it was rated the most dangerous airport in the world for more than 20 years by a program titled Most Extreme Airports, broadcast on The History Channel in 2010.
The Nepali Army Air Service is the army aviation branch of the Nepalese Armed Forces, also known as the Nepal Army Air Wing. Nepal has no separate air force but the Nepali Army operates several aircraft within the army aviation branch.
Utair is a Russian airline with its head office at Khanty-Mansiysk Airport while its hubs are at Surgut International Airport and Vnukovo International Airport. It operates scheduled domestic and some international passenger services, scheduled helicopter services, and extensive charter flights with fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters in support of the oil and gas industry across western Siberia.
Shree Airlines Pvt. Ltd. is an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal, operating domestic services within Nepal, including chartered helicopter flights. The airline also conducts charter flights & air ambulance service to international destinations. As of 2024, Shree Airlines is the third largest domestic carrier in Nepal by passenger carried and second largest by fleet size.
Yeti Airlines Flight 101 was a domestic flight in Nepal that crashed on final approach to Tenzing-Hillary Airport in the town of Lukla in eastern Nepal on 8 October 2008. The De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 200 registered as 9N-AFE originated from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
Gopal Rai was a political leader of the Nepali Congress. He was state minister for Forest and Soil Conservation of Nepal. He became active in politics while studying bachelor's degree in Tri Chandra College against Panchayat System. He was captured while planning to attack by force in Okhaldhunga. His many friends were killed and he was put in jail.
Summit Air, formerly known as Goma Air, is an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The airline operates from short takeoff and landing airstrips in the Western parts of Nepal. The airline received the first of two Let 410 aircraft, financed by the Czech Republic Export Bank., in October 2014, and initially only used them on flights to Lukla and Jomsom.
Barentsburg Heliport, Heerodden is a private heliport located at Heerodden, serving the mining town of Barentsburg in Svalbard, Norway. The airport is owned and operated by Arktikugol, which also owns the company town. The airport features a 91-by-21-meter runway, two hangars and an administration building with a control tower. There are two Mil Mi-8 helicopters based at Heerodden, which are operated by Spark+. Flights are provided to Svalbard Airport, Longyear and Pyramiden Heliport.
Pyramiden Heliport is a heliport located at Pyramiden in Svalbard, Norway. The airport is owned and operated by Arktikugol, who owns the mining town. The airport consists of a gravel runway and apron measuring 90 by 40 meters and a small terminal building. There is capacity for up to three helicopters on the apron. Flights are carried out by Spark+ using two Mil Mi-8 helicopters. Flights are flown to Barentsburg Heliport, Heerodden and Svalbard Airport, Longyear at irregular intervals.
Manang Air Pvt. Ltd. is a helicopter airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal and was founded in 1997 and has been operating helicopters in commercial air transportation within the Nepalese territory under the Regulation of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. The company provides chartered services and is focused on personalized services such as adventure flights helicopter excursions or expedition work. It is the only Approved Training Organization in Nepal.
Events from the year 2006 in Nepal.
On 27 July 2000, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Nepal en route from Bajhang Airport to Dhangadhi Airport on a domestic passenger flight. The wreckage of the aircraft, registration 9N-ABP, was found in Jogbuda, Dadeldhura District. All 22 passengers and the three crew aboard were killed in the crash. An investigation into the crash was launched by Nepalese authorities after the accident site was located.
Simrik Air Pvt. Ltd. is a helicopter airline based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. It operates chartered helicopter services. The company was established in 2001. It was a partner of Simrik Airlines, which operates scheduled fixed-wing services, until latter airline was rebranded as Guna Airlines in 2021. Simrik Air also partners with Swiss helicopter operator Air Zermatt, which helps with pilot training.
The 1981 Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision was an accident involving a Yakovlev Yak-40 jet and a Mil Mi-8T helicopter, both operated by the Russian airline Aeroflot, 11 km east of Zheleznogorsk-Ilimskiy Airport, Soviet Union, on 18 September 1981. None of the combined 40 passengers and crew on either aircraft survived.