Nepal bans ‘non-essential’ flights by helicopters after deadly crash

Nepal's aviation regulator has banned helicopters from conducting "non-essential" flights, including those for sight-seeing, for two months after a deadly crash in the Everest region in which six people were killed. Five Mexican tourists and the Nepali pilot of a small helicopter operated by the private Manang Air company were killed on Tuesday when their chopper crashed while returning from viewing Himalayan peaks, including Mount Everest. “Non-essential flights like mountain flights, external load operations (sling flights) and showering of flowers by helicopters (will) be restricted till September,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said in a Twitter post late on Wednesday. Nepal, which is in the midst of the annual June-September monsoon season, has formed an investigation committee to find out what caused Tuesday’s crash.<br/>