One passenger was killed and three people were injured when AS350 helicopters operated by Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty collided while attempting to land at Pheriche in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district on 3 November. The aircraft were serving the Everest region: Air Dynasty’s helicopter had flown from Lukla on a cargo flight, while Fishtail Air’s had departed Gorakshep with two foreign passengers. The cause has not been established.
Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority identified the deceased as Indian national Vasanth Kumar Balaramudu. The injured included Fishtail Air pilot Rabindra Pradhan and passenger Shailesh Krishna Patel, a New Zealand national; both were taken to a hospital in Kathmandu. The pilots of both helicopters sustained injuries, according to local reporting, though accounts differed on their condition and treatment.
The collision occurred at about 8:12 a.m. local time at the high-altitude Pheriche helipad, approximately 4,371 metres above sea level. Air Dynasty’s aircraft was registered 9N-AOD and Fishtail Air’s 9N-AJR. The aviation authority opened an investigation.
CAAN Director General Mukesh Dangol told The Kathmandu Post that preliminary information pointed to possible miscommunication between the pilots. Pheriche is outside Lukla tower coverage, and pilots communicate with one another in the area. The suggestion is preliminary; investigators have not determined the cause.