2006 Shree Air Mil Mi-8 crash

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]

Shree Air Mil Mi-8 Crash
A Mil Mi-8 helicopter, similar to the one involved in the accident
Accident
Date23 September 2006
SummaryPilot error along with poor airline training[1]
SiteGhunsa, Nepal
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMil Mi-8
OperatorShree Air
Registration9N-AHJ
Flight originPhungling, Nepal
DestinationGhunsa, Nepal
Occupants24
Passengers20
Crew4
Fatalities24
Survivors0

Aircraft

The helicopter involved with the accident was a Mil Mi-8 MTV 1.

Crew and Victims

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]

Casualties by nationality
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

Incident

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]

Investigation

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]

Aftermath

A day of mourning was observed throughout Nepal and schools and public offices were closed on 27 September 2006.[5]

References
  1. "Final Report of Accident Investigation of Helicopter 9N-AHJ" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  2. "A conservation catastrophe for Nepal". BBC. 25 September 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  3. "Helicopter Carrying 7 WWF Staff Crashes in Nepal" (PDF). WWF. 6 December 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  4. "Tragic Helicopter Crash in Nepal". WWF Nepal. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  5. "Teams recover Nepal crash bodies". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2018.

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