Eurocopter AS350B3 crash near Pheriche helipad, Solukhumbu, Nepal

AS350B3 9N-AJR of Fishtail Air, with three aboard: the pilot in command and two passengers, a count derived from the two foreign nationals reported aboard plus the named pilot. Two helicopters collided at about 08:12 while both were two to three metres above the Pheriche helipad in Solukhumbu, at roughly 4,371 metres. The rotor blades of the Fishtail Air machine struck the passenger compartment windows of the Air Dynasty machine. Air Dynasty's 9N-AOD had flown from Lukla on a cargo flight and was descending to land, reportedly rapidly and despite warnings from ground staff, according to widely shared video. Fishtail Air's 9N-AJR had come from Gorakshep and was landing from the opposite direction. Vasanth Kumar Balaramudu, an Indian national aboard the Fishtail Air helicopter, was killed. Shailesh Krishna Patel, a New Zealander, and Fishtail Air's pilot in command Rabindra Pradhan were injured and flown to Kathmandu. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal says the cause is not established, and its director general said preliminary reports suggest miscommunication between the pilots, the area lying outside Lukla tower coverage so that crews coordinate directly. It is believed to be Nepal's first midair helicopter collision. Each aircraft is recorded separately, so this collision appears as two entries.