2015 Charikot Helicopter Crash

On 12 May 2015, U.S. Marine Corps Bell UH-1Y Venom, BuNo 168792, 'SE-08', of Camp Pendleton-based HMLA-469 was declared missing in the Charikot region of the Himalaya Mountains while conducting humanitarian relief operations in the wake of the Magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the region earlier. The Nepalese Army discovered the crashed aircraft on 15 May 2015. All 13 occupants were found deceased.

Aircraft
The U.S. Marine Corps helicopter arrived in Nepal on May 5. As part of Operation Sahayogi Haat, the U.S. military contributed three Marine Corps UH-1Y Huey helicopters, four Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, four Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, four Air Force C-130 Hercules and four Marine Corps KC-130J Hercules aircraft to the relief effort.

Crew and Victims
The six U.S. Marines are: Capt Dustin R. Lukasiewicz, Capt Christopher L. Norgen, Sgt Ward M. Johnson IV, Sgt Eric M. Seaman, Cpl Sara A. Medina and LCpl Jacob A. Hug. The two Nepalese soldiers are: Tapendra Rawal and Basanta Titara.

Incident
The following is a statement from PACOM: "On 12 May, at approximately 10 p.m. JST, a UH-1Y Huey with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 in support of Joint Task Force 505 was declared missing while supporting Operation Sahayogi Haat." Nepal’s army, struggling with the aftermath of a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit on 25 April, had deployed about 400 troops into rocky, forested terrain after the US helicopter was reported missing. A news release from III Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Okinawa, Japan stated that the chosen route, which may have been made because one or more of the injured was in need of urgent treatment, took the UH-1Y Huey helicopter for a brief period over unfamiliar terrain in unstable weather. The helicopter crashed in rugged terrain about 8 miles north of Charikot on a mission to evacuate casualties caused by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.

Investigation
The helicopter crash was attributed to the crew’s decision to fly the most direct route to Kathmandu. The chosen course required a brief period over unfamiliar terrain with unstable meteorological conditions and was necessary “due to a real or perceived urgency” concerning the condition of the injured civilians.

Aftermath
According to CNN, then Nepali Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said "You know, our terrain is so ... difficult, that is why (it crashed). We feel so sorry for that." In honour of the fallen, the Heritage Room of the U.S. Embassy, in Kathmandu, Nepal was renamed to “Vengeance Hall” after the crashed helicopter.

On May 15 an "Open Letter" from the People of Nepal remembering the Marines was published. It was thereafter replied to by Peter W. Bodde, Ambassador of the United States of America to Nepal.

On June 20, 2015 a similar accident happened, when a Ecureuil helicopter crashed in Sindhupalchowk District carrying four people on board while coming back to Kathmandu after distributing relief materials to earthquake victims.