KATHMANDU, March 30: The investigation report into the crash of an Altitude Air helicopter has been released, concluding that the accident was caused by a “whiteout” condition.
According to the inquiry conducted by the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), the helicopter with the call sign 9N-AMS encountered a whiteout effect—when snow on the ground is blown into the air by the rotor’s downwash, severely reducing visibility.
The MoTCA published the report on its official website regarding the helicopter accident that occurred on October 29 in Lobuche, Solukhumbu.
Bodies of those killed in Altitude Air helicopter crash being t...
The report explains that the crash happened while the helicopter was attempting to land on a snow-covered helipad. While trying to correct an imbalance in the landing skids, the pilot applied an excessive corrective input, which ultimately led to the accident.
During the landing attempt, low wind speed combined with the helicopter’s rotor wash lifted snow from the surface, creating a whiteout situation. As visibility deteriorated and the pilot experienced difficulty maintaining balance, the helicopter’s main rotor struck the ground and the aircraft overturned.
Investigators also noted that the pilot continued the landing attempt despite poor visibility caused by the snow-covered helipad. Another contributing factor was the absence of ground staff at Lobuche, which meant the pilot had no on-site assistance during the landing.
The report recommends that helicopter operators deploy mandatory staff at sub-bases during busy operational periods.
Additional recommendations include ensuring that pilots receive detailed pre-flight briefings about landing site conditions and weather, conducting risk assessments before flights to remote areas, establishing clear guidelines to abort landings when visibility becomes unsafe, assigning landing assistants where necessary, and installing standardized and clearly visible helipad markers in high-altitude areas such as Lobuche.
