Sad news out of Nepal today where it has been revealed that a helicopter crash has claimed the lives of seven people, including the country's Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari.
The private helicopter operated by Air Dynasty was shuttling Adhikari to Terathum from the eastern district of Taplejung after visiting the site of a new airport that is under construction. Moments after the aircraft went down local residents near the crash site alerted authorities. Emergency first responders were on site quickly, but all aboard had perished instantly when the helicopter crashed.
At the moment, not much else is known beyond that. Reports indicate that the weather was good during the flight and shouldn't have contributed to the crash and it is too early to speculate much beyond that. It will likely take investigators some time to determine exactly what happened, although mechanical failure seems the most likely cause.
Nepal has an extremely poor record for aviation safety and this is just the latest in the deadly crashes that have taken place there over the past year or so. Last September another helicopter went down, claiming the lives of the six people onboard and in March of 2018 a plane crash killed 51 people as well. The country has made it a priority to improve air safety nationwide, but so far those efforts have been marginal at best.
Our condolences go out to the friends and family of those who perished in the crash today.
