Part I: Helicopter, the Lifeline, and an Adventure

Nepal has an old relationship with Helicopters. The first Helicopters to fly in Nepal were American-manufactured Bell Helicopters leased by Nepal Airlines in the 1960s. 

Similarly, two Russian Mi-4 helicopters entered Nepal that served on scheduled routes to remote parts of Nepal making all parts of Nepal accessible.  

Nowadays Helicopters can be chartered on a very short notice since Nepal has a well-established helicopter industry. It is suitable for Nepalese needs due to landslides and other natural disasters even when roads are inaccessible. Helicopters serve as the lifeline for quick and quality travel. 

Since 2019, the Nepal government has been providing a helicopter rescue program through the President Women Upliftment Program and has effectively saved hundreds of underprivileged communities after suffering complications during their pregnancy. 

However, booking a chopper is not always that convenient, sometimes there are travel restrictions between the Nepal / China borders. Due to the Khampa rebellion against China, Nepal had previously imposed some restrictions  

In one case, Chhani Gurung, a laborer was injured by a rolling stone in the Chinese bordering Rural Municipality of Gorkha, it took two hours to get her to a nearby health post but it would take three days just to get to a vehicle accessible road. A long bureaucratic process of co-ordinating letters and authorization between Chief District Officers, a helicopter company, the Home Ministry, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal just to grant permits. 

Fortunately, the bureaucratic process was completed and by the next day, Chaani Gurung was airlifted. 

There are also cases where the rapidly growing helicopter industry of Nepal goes a little out of control. In 2023, Helicopter Pilot Ramesh Dangol of Prabhu Air was forced to land in a football stadium while there was an ongoing semi-final of the Waling Gold Cup.

The spectators wondered if there was any problem with the helicopter and had to make an emergency landing but after they found out the game was interrupted just for the pleasure of a drunk passenger, the spectators got aggressive and started beating the pilot and the passengers. 

Helicopters are used for rescue but are also prone to accidents and some are high-profile cases. In 2019, Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari, PM aide Yubaraj Dahal, entrepreneur Ang Tsering Sherpa, Captain Prabhakar KC, Minister Adhikari’s bodyguard Arjun Ghimire, Deputy Director of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Birendra Shrestha, CAAN official Dhruba Das died after Air Dynasty helicopter crashed in the  Sisne Khola area. 

After a year, the investigation committee submitted a report that identified unfavorable weather and snowstorms as major causes of the accident. The probe found the load that the chopper was carrying was bigger than the limit allowed for this at type of chopper.  

Mismanagements have been rampant in Nepal which is one of the crucial ingredients for aerial accidents. Nepal is still learning from its mistakes and improving the quality of air travel. There is a more promising story of adventure which we discuss in Part 2 of this series.  

Note: The Image is Ai generated