2006 Shree Air Mil Mi-8 crash

Shree Air

Industry	Aviation
Fate	Involved in fatal crash (2006)
Headquarters	Nepal

Template:Infobox Aircraft occurrence On 23 September 2006, a Shree Air Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashed during a chartered journey from Phungling to Ghunsa in Eastern Nepal. This tragedy resulted in the loss of all 24 people on board, including members of a World Wide Fund for Nature expedition engaged in establishing the locally governed Kangchenjunga Conservation Area.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Mil Mi-8 MTV 1 helicopter.

Crew and victims

The helicopter was carrying a team from the World Wide Fund for Nature returning from a conservation ceremony in Taplejung District, where control of the park surrounding Kanchenjunga was officially transferred to local communities by the Government of Nepal. Notable members of the WWF group included Chandra Gurung and Harka Gurung. Among other passengers was the politician Gopal Rai.

Fatalities by nationality

Nation	Crew Deaths	Passenger Deaths
Nepal	2	14
Russia	2	0
Template:Country data UK	0	1
USA	0	2
Canada	0	1
Australia	0	1
Finland	0	1
Total	4	20

Casualties

Source:

• Dr. Bigyan Acharya, Program Development Specialist at USAID in Nepal
• Margaret Alexander, Deputy Director of USAID, Nepal
• Hem Raj Bhandari, Journalist with Nepal Television
• Dr. Chandra Prasad Gurung, WWF Nepal Country Representative
• Dr. Harka Gurung, Advisor to WWF Nepal
• Jennifer Headley, Coordinator for the Himalaya/South Asia Program
• Klim Kim, Member of Flight Crew
• Yeshi Choden Lama, Senior Program Officer at WWF Nepal
• Tirtha Man Maskey, Former Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation
• Pauli Mustonen, Charge d'Affaires at the Finnish Embassy in Nepal
• Dr. Damodar Parajuli, Acting Secretary at the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation
• Matthew Preece, Program Officer for the Eastern Himalayas Program at WWF US (recently recruited by USAID)
• Narayan Poudel, Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation
• The Honorable Gopal Rai, Minister of State at the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, accompanied by his wife Meena Rai
• Sharad Rai, Director General of the Department of Forests
• Dr. Jillian Bowling Schlaepfer, Director of Conservation at WWF UK
• Mingma Sherpa, Flight Crew Member
• Mingma Norbu Sherpa, Managing Director of the Eastern Himalayas Program at WWF US
• Vijaya Shrestha, Central Committee Member of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Sunil Singh, Cameraman for Nepal Television
• Valery Slafronov, Flight Crew Member
• Guruwar Tandul, Flight Crew Member
• Dr. Dawa Tshering, Chairperson of the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council

Incident

The helicopter departed at 10:45 NPT on 23 September 2006. Shortly after takeoff, it was reported missing. The wreckage was located two days later in an area southwest of Ghunsa. Initial assessments suggested that adverse weather conditions were responsible for the crash.

Investigation

According to the final accident report by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the primary factors contributing to the crash were pilots navigating into cloud-covered areas over unfamiliar terrain combined with insufficient crew resource management. Additionally, the report criticized Shree Air, the operating airline, for inadequacies in their training programs.

Aftermath

Memorial dedicated to the victims in Taplejung.

On 27 September 2006, Nepal observed a nationwide day of mourning, with closures of schools and government offices across the country.