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| Date: | Tuesday 12 May 2015 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Bell UH-1Y Venom |
| Owner/operator: | United States Marine Corps (USMC) |
| Registration: | 168792 |
| MSN: | 55189 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 13 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near the village of Kalinchok, Dolakha district -
 Nepal
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
An US Marine Corps UH-1Y helicopter assigned to HMLA-469 squadron and sent to Nepal following the earthquakes that hit the country went missing on May 12. Wreckage found on May 15
On Nov. 6, 2015, III Marine Expeditionary Force released the findings of the command investigation into the UH-1Y Huey mishap which occurred on May 12, 2015, during Joint Task Force 505’s humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts in support of Operation Sahayogi Haat in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The investigation has determined that the most probable cause of the mishap was the decision of crew, after picking up the injured civilians from a village north of Charikot, to fly the most direct route back to Kathmandu. The chosen course required a brief period over unfamiliar terrain with unstable meteorological conditions. It is believed that the aircraft, call sign “Vengeance 01” (VE01), was enveloped by rapidly developing clouds or lifted into a cloud by rising air currents. As they attempted to maneuver out of the weather conditions, they lost visual reference with the terrain and impacted the ground.
The crew of the VE01, was delivering humanitarian aid and evacuating casualties back to Kathmandu in the wake of two separate and devastating earthquakes at the time of the crash. There were eight U.S. Marines, two Nepalese Army Liaison soldiers and five injured Nepalese civilians on board.
Sources:
http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/05/12/us-marine-helicopter-missing-in-nepal-earthquake-aid-mission
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_NEPAL_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-15-03-17-07
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/missing-us-military-helicopter-found-in-nepal-with-no-survivors/2015/05/15/56e0c027-1f23-43a9-b911-8b454e5c7364_story.html?noredirect=on
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32748350
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/05/16/all-8-bodies-found-at-crashed-us-marine-chopper-nepal-army-says.html
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_NEPAL_US_HELICOPTER_CRASH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-06-05-09-50-02
http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries23.html
https://www.verticalmag.com/press-releases/marinesreleaseresultsofnepaluh1yaircraftmishapcommandinvesti/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-May-2015 20:21 | gerard57 | Added |
| 12-May-2015 20:31 | gerard57 | Updated [Aircraft type, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 15-May-2015 07:35 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 15-May-2015 08:31 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 15-May-2015 08:55 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 15-May-2015 20:08 | Aerossurance | Updated [Operator, Narrative, ] |
| 16-May-2015 08:30 | gerard57 | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 22-May-2015 18:38 | FRANCOIS | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 05-Jun-2015 18:26 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 04-Nov-2015 11:55 | El_serj | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Source, ] |
| 07-Nov-2015 14:31 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Dec-2019 17:45 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 07-Feb-2024 17:08 | nhofmann54 | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, ] |
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