Air Dynasty helicopter crashes while landing in Khotang
Five passengers escape serious harm as aircraft overturns on landing; one man suffers minor leg injuries
A helicopter operated by Air Dynasty, registration 9N-AFQ, crashed in Khotang district around midday on Wednesday.
The aircraft had departed Kathmandu at 11am carrying five passengers and came down at 11:51am while attempting to land at Balabesi in Khartamcha, Ward No. 2 of Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality.
One passenger sustained minor injuries. Milan Kumar Rai, ward chairman of Kepilasgadhi-2, said that Kaji Bahadur Rai, from Kathmandu, suffered slight injuries to his right leg.
According to Mr Rai, the helicopter was carrying relatives of Nagmani Rai and his children, who were travelling to perform the final rites of his wife, who had died in the United Kingdom. Her body was brought separately by hearse from Kathmandu, while the family travelled by helicopter.
A video posted by villagers shows the helicopter losing control as it touched the ground. The tail lifted suddenly before the aircraft spun and struck the edge of a field.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal confirmed that the helicopter overturned during landing but said all passengers and crew were safe. The injured man was airlifted to Kathmandu by another helicopter operated by the company.
The incident follows a series of helicopter accidents in Nepal. On 29 October 2025, an Altitude Air rescue helicopter (call sign 9N-AMS) crashed while landing at the Lobuche helipad near Everest Base Camp.
In 2024, an Air Dynasty helicopter crashed on a hillside in Nuwakot district, about 11 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu, killing all five people on board.
Air Dynasty Heli Service, founded in 1993 by Ang Tshering Sherpa of the Yeti Group, is among Nepal’s oldest helicopter operators. Mr Sherpa himself died in an Air Dynasty crash in Pathibhara, Taplejung, in 2019.
Civil aviation records show that at least 41 helicopter accidents have been recorded in Nepal since 1979, including 20 fatal incidents
