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Five Mexican tourists, pilot killed in helicopter crash in Nepal: What went wrong!

  • Experts blame violation of the Visual Flying Rules (VFR) for most of the chopper crashes in the mountains as the leading cause. VFR means fly only visually - because of the lack of navigation aids in remote areas or unreliability of GPS-like aids in hilly terrains or a remote manipulation of instruments in cases of sabotage - as the topography plays havoc especially in the monsoon (mid-June to September).
  • Even when VFR is followed, most crashes occur due to CFIT (Controlled Flight into Terrain) - that is, everything else is OK but the aircraft collides with hills or trees hidden by the clouds. This also occurs mostly in the monsoon.
  • On Tueday with Manang, the chopper was brand new, pilot was highly experienced. But it hit an 'invisible' tree and then crashed against a hillside. This CFIT occurred when the pilot tried to dodge patches of clouds even as he was following the VFR.
  • Simply put, everyone knows flying in the hills during the monsoon is risky, but the companies want to make more money in any which case. This type of tragedy is very frequently invited in the Indian hill State of Uttarakhand as well, where pilots are even made to fly without the mandatory rest.

KATHMANDU, July 12: All five Mexican tourists and the pilot aboard an Airbus H125 helicopter of Manang Air were killed on Tuesday when the chopper crashed minutes after takeoff from the foothills of the Everest for Kathmandu in poor weather conditions. All the bodies have been recovered.

The pilot was a Nepali. The Mexicans were two men and three women of same family (father, mother, son and two daughters). One of them was a doctor, Dr (Ms) Abril Sifuentes González, at Mexico's National Cancer Institute. The family was on a tour of Nepal after a round of some of India's tourist destinations, it is reported.

After the helicopter tour of the Everest, the tallest peak in the world at 8,848.86 metres, lasting one hour, they were returning to Kathmandu. They had booked the helicopter tour at the most unsuitable time - the monsoon. Flights are risky in the treacherous weather. Climbers also do not venture, it is slippery.

The chopper took off from Lukla, the famous base point for Everest climbing expeditions, and landed at Surke nearby for refueling. (Surke is an alternative landing site for helicopters in poor weather, 6 minutes flying time below Lukla airfield). From Surke the helicopter took off at 10:05 am (local time). At 10:13 it lost contact with Lukla airport, according to a statement issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

It took five hours for rescuers to locate the site. It is believed the chopper hit a hillside in poor visibility. It was raining even when the rescuers reached there. The wreckage was found in Likhupike Rural Municipality of Solukhumbu district. Local people said it crashed with a loud explosion and they saw a huge fire at the site.

The dead have been identified as 1. CAPT. C.B. Gurung (Pilot) Nepali 2. Sifuentes G. Ferrando - Mexican 3. Gonzalez Abric - Mexican 4. Gonzalez Olacio Luz - Mexican 5. Sifuentes G. Maria Jose - Mexican 6. Rincon Ismael Mexican.

It is said in Nepal that flight route changes are common because of frequent variations in weather conditions around the Everest. So did the Mexicans' chopper. Especially, it rains heavily during this time of the year in the Indian plains and the Himalayas due to the south-west monsoon. Visibility can suddenly turn very poor due to unpredictable weather conditions. Mid-June onwards is always a monster season for tourism in the hills. And flying in Nepal is visual, without aids available in remote and inaccessible mountainous terrain. Also it is advised like that.

It was officially stated that Manang Air helicopter 9N-AMV (AS350) which went missing in the morning at 10:13 local time was found crashed in Likhupike, in Solukhumbu district, Ward No. 5, near Lampura Pass.

Two rescue helicopters brought the bodies to Kathmandu. They are expected to be handed over to the Mexican embassy after autopsy.

The helicopter, now named Airbus Helicopters H125, was manufactured in France. Acquired in 2018.

The crash has been described technically as "controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)", which means that the aircraft was airworthy and under control of the pilot, but hits the ground and the pilot is unaware until it is too late. “The helicopter initially hit the top of a tree and then hit the sloppy ridge with a huge impact between two passes in a dense forest,” Manang Air was quoted in reports. But the CFIT happened as the pilot would have tried to dodge the cloud patches. The last contact was when it was over Lamjura Pass.

Air accidents are very common in Nepal, especially of choppers as the companies undertake trips off-season to enhance their profits, ignoring the topography and weather conditions. And, there is not much sightseeing possible without choppers!

In January this year, a Yeti airlines plane crash killed 71 people in Pokhara. On May 29, 2022, Tara Air Flight 197 crashed in Jomsom, killing all 22 people on board.

There have been 941 fatalities in 73 air crashes in Nepal since 1962.

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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.

The irony lies in her illustration of her experiences in the country she has been living in for the last four years. What it really is!

ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!

The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.

Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.

  • The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
  • The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
  • The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)

A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924) (Today's headlines )

Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”

Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.

PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.

Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people. (Today's headlines )

"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...

Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.

Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.

As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.

The committee headed by justice Kurian Joseph will study Centre-State relations and make proposals to ensure foolproof separation of powers.

"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.

Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.

ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!

What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America! (Today's headlines )

PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).

In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.

THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.

The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.

Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See: New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)

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