The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned all helicopter flights by Simrik Air, the charter service company based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. This is a decision that comes after last Friday a rotorcraft of the airline had crashed to the ground, killing one person. The authority will inspect the fleet and proceed with an audit of the company.

These are the facts: an AS-350B3e helicopter (registration 9N-AJZ) carrying five people, which took off from Gola with destination Siprung, crashed during landing, in the Sankhuwasabha region, in Bhotkhola. According to local press reports, the aircraft was carrying construction materials for the "Upper Arun Hydropower" project. Three occupants were seriously injured in the accident, while one died.

Problems with flight safety in Nepal are confirmed. Recently, the authorities of the regulators of the skies had suspended some air traffic control (ATC, Air Traffic Control) officers of the Kathmandu airport, after a plane crash between two aircraft of the companies Air India and Nepal Airlines.

On the same topic see also the article published by AVIONEWS.