Two helicopters collide near Mount Everest, killing passenger
A passenger was killed, and three people were injured when two helicopters collided while landing at the Pheriche helipad in Nepal’s Mount Everest region on November 3, 2026.
The Solukhumbu District Police Office identified the victim as a 47-year-old Indian national from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The injured included a New Zealand citizen of Indian origin traveling on the same helicopter and the pilots of both aircraft.
Initial police reports listed only one injured person before authorities revised the count to three.
LIVE UPDATE FROM EVEREST: Helicopter Collision in Pheriche. Two helicopters collided at the helipad.
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#Pheriche #PhericheHelipad #NepalNews #HimalayanNews #BreakingNews https://t.co/ReLrzuc1eR— Daniel Mazur (@danielmazur) November 3, 2026
Helicopter rotors reportedly struck during landing
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), both aircraft were AS350 single-engine helicopters. An Air Dynasty Heli Service helicopter, registered 9N-AOD, had arrived from Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla (LUA), while a Fishtail Air helicopter, registered 9N-AJR, was arriving from Gorakshep with two foreign passengers on board. The Air Dynasty helicopter was carrying no passengers.
Police placed the collision at 8:11 a.m. local time, while CAAN gave the time as 8:12 a.m. No fire broke out following the impact.
The cause of the collision remained undetermined as of November 3, 2026, with an investigation underway.
According to district police official Nabin Raj Budhathoki, the victim’s body was flown to Lukla ahead of a planned transfer to Kathmandu for a post-mortem examination. The three injured people were evacuated by air for medical treatment.
High-altitude operations and Nepal’s helicopter safety record
Pheriche sits at approximately 4,200 meters (13,780 feet) above sea level, along the main trekking route to Everest base camp. With no road access to much of the Khumbu region, helicopters operated by Nepal’s private charter companies provide passenger transfers, deliver supplies and evacuate trekkers suffering from altitude sickness or exhaustion.
The collision occurred during the autumn trekking season, one of the two busiest periods of the year in the Everest region.
The area has experienced fatal helicopter accidents before. On July 11, 2023, a Manang Air sightseeing helicopter returning to Kathmandu crashed in Solukhumbu, killing a Mexican family of five and the pilot.
The accident also comes amid longstanding concerns over helicopter safety in Nepal.
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A high-level government committee report published by Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation in late 2025 recorded 40 helicopter crashes and 92 fatalities over 63 years of helicopter operations in the country. The committee concluded that efforts to strengthen safety oversight had fallen short of expectations.The post Two helicopters collide near Mount Everest, killing passenger appeared first on AeroTime.
A passenger was killed, and three people were injured when two helicopters collided while landing at the Pheriche…
The post Two helicopters collide near Mount Everest, killing passenger appeared first on AeroTime.
