Simulator training is expected to help pilots develop decision-making skills in hypothetical emergency situations without risk.
What you should know
Helicopter simulator training facility is now available in Nepal. The state-of-the-art simulator center installed at the Air Transport Capacity Enhancement Project Office under the Civil Aviation Authority in Sinamangal has become operational from Friday. The level three simulator was made in Switzerland. The simulator, which cost about 1.5 million euros, was brought to Kathmandu in a container. This is the first simulator training for helicopter pilots in Nepal that is approved and meets international standards. Nepal currently has five international fixed-wing airlines, nine domestic fixed-wing domestic airlines and 12 helicopter operators flying. There are . Helicopter service is considered essential in Nepal due to its remote and mountainous geography, short takeoff-landing runways, one-way airports, and demand for emergency rescue .
However, from 1979 to 2024, 98 people were killed in 41 helicopter accidents. In 2024, there were 349 reported incidents involving helicopters, including two accidents, 16 serious incidents, and 331 minor incidents. Although there has been some decline compared to the previous year, the risk has not been completely controlled.
Statistics show that 72 percent of the accidents in the last decade were due to ‘controlled flight into terrain’ (CFIT) and 21 percent to ‘loss of control in-flight’ (LOC-I), which indicates the need to strengthen flight safety . After a series of helicopter accidents in 2023, the authority has also made simulator training mandatory for helicopter pilots . This training is not mandatory by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) under the United Nations. However, Nepal has made helicopter simulator training mandatory to enhance air safety.
Simulator training is expected to help pilots develop decision-making skills in hypothetical emergency situations without risk.
Pramod Kumar Lama, the authority's helicopter flight operation inspector, said that during the flight, exercises will be conducted in complex scenarios such as engine fire, cloud cover, emergency landing, long-line operation, strong winds and monsoon challenges.
Hirababu Dahal, another senior captain of the authority, described it as quality learning for the new generation. He said that if such a facility is available in Nepal, the service will be provided at about one-third of the training costs in Europe and the cost of visa, air ticket and accommodation will also be saved.
The company operating the simulator has set a fee of 500 euros per hour per pilot, while it is estimated that the cost of the same training abroad would be at least 1,000 euros. This simulator is specifically targeted at pilots of Airbus's H-125 B3E model helicopter. 
There are 33 such helicopters in operation in Nepal and 36 pilots (25 captains and 11 co-pilots) are working. In Nepal, there is a provision that co-pilots can participate in simulator training only after completing 600 hours of turbine flight and 75 hours of flight with an instructor, and promotion to captain is possible only after the necessary competency assessment.
This training is being conducted in collaboration with Airbus India, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Switzerland-based Loft Dynamics.
Airbus and Loft Dynamics instructors Klaus Kraus, Yann Guerin, Lorenz Knopfler, Nick Mayhew, Maurizio Folini and Mika Berger have come to Nepal to provide training.
Nepal has a 65-year history of helicopter flying. There is a rule that pilots over 60 years of age are not allowed to fly helicopters and that a co-pilot is mandatory during the monsoon. In other seasons, a single pilot flies helicopters in Nepal.
This training, which began by creating scenes such as mountains, clouds, strong winds and fires through programming in a room in Sinamangal, is seen as a safe long-term investment for pilots.
