Simrik Air Explained

Airline:	Simrik Air
Fleet Size:	5
Founded:	2001
Headquarters:	Kathmandu, Nepal
Hubs:	Kathmandu
Secondary Hubs:	Pokhara Airport
Website:	www.simrikair.com
Aoc:	034/2000^[1]

Simrik Air Pvt. Ltd. is a helicopter airline based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. It operates chartered helicopter services. The company was established in 2001. It was a partner of Simrik Airlines, which operates scheduled fixed-wing services,^{[2] [3]} until latter airline was rebranded as Guna Airlines in 2021. Simrik Air also partners with Swiss helicopter operator Air Zermatt, which helps with pilot training.^{[4] [5]}

Simrik Air, has added a new Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopter to its fleet. The helicopter, which has serial number 65430, was signed for in Singapore on March 20, 2023. It is the latest and most successful model of the Bell Jet Ranger helicopter, and is equipped with advanced avionics and safety features.^[6]

Fleet

Current fleet

The Simrik Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of March 2023):^{[7] [8]}

Simrik Air fleet

Aircraft	In Fleet	Orders	Passengers			Notes
			C	Y	Total
Eurocopter AS350 B3e	4	0	0	5	5	^[9] ^[10]
Bell 407 GXP	1	0	0	5	5
Bell 505 Jet Ranger X	1^[11]	1^[12]	0	4	4
Total	5	2

Former fleet

• Mil Mi-8MTV-1

Accidents and incidents

• 28 May 2003 - A Simrik Air Mil Mi-8MTV-1 crashed while approaching Everest Base Camp. Two passengers were killed and nine injured.^[13]
• 23 November 2006 - A Simrik Air Mil Mi-8MTV-1 crashed during an emergency landing in Jumla District.^{[14] [15]}
• 22 June 2015 - A Simrik Air Eurocopter AS 350 caught fire after a bird strike in Gorkha District and had to make an emergency landing. All five persons on board were reported to be safe.^{[16] [17]}
• 30 June 2018 - A Simrik Air Eurocopter AS 350 crashed during a landing at Grande International Hospital in Kathmandu. No passenger was harmed,^[18] however the video of which went viral.^[19]
• 05 May 2023 - A Simrik Air 9N-AJZ helicopter with four passengers onboard in the command of Captain Surendra Paudel was crashed in Bhotkhola Rural Municipality -4, sankhuwasabha.^[20] There were four passengers and one pilot onboard. One passenger was reported dead, while four other were injured. ^[21]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Civil Aviation Report 2017 . Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal . 1 October 2018.
2. Web site: Simrik Fix Wing Partner . Simrik Air . 1 October 2018.
3. Web site: History . Simrik Airlines . 1 October 2018.
4. Web site: Air Zermatt . Simrik Air . 1 October 2018.
5. Web site: HILFSEINSATZ: Bergretter-Legende hilft in Nepal . Luzerner Zeitung . 1 October 2018 . German . 31 July 2017.
6. Web site: Simrik Air expands fleet with Bell 505 JRX . 2023-08-01 . The Annapurna Express . Nepali.
7. Web site: Simrik Air added AS 350 B2 helicopter in its fleets. . Aviation Nepal . 1 October 2018 . 25 June 2016.
8. Web site: First Flight for New Simrik Air 407 GXP . Heli Hub . 1 October 2018 . 13 January 2017.
9. Web site: Simrik Air adds a third AS350 B3e . Nepali Times . 25 October 2018 . 21 October 2018.
10. Web site: Simrik Air received its new chopper today . Aviation Nepal . 1 May 2019 . 27 April 2019. Rai. Pinkey.
11. Web site: Cuenca . Oliver . Simrik Air receives Bell 505 . Air Med and Rescue . 27 March 2023 . 22 March 2023.
12. Web site: Simrik Air orders first 2 Bell 505 helicopters in Nepal . 6 June 2020.
13. Web site: Fatal helicopter crash on Everest . BBC . 1 October 2018 . 28 May 2003.
14. Web site: ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 95067 . Aviation Safety Network . 1 October 2018.
15. Web site: Accident Records of Nepalese Registered Helicopters . Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal . 1 October 2018.
16. Web site: Simrik Air chopper catches fire after bird hit . The Kathmandu Post . 1 October 2018 . 22 June 2015.
17. Web site: Accident Description . Aviation Safety Network . 1 October 2018.
18. Web site: Helicopter crash-lands at Kathmandu-based Grande Int’l Hospital . República . 1 October 2018 . 30 June 2018.
19. Web site: Video shows a helicopter crash-landing at a hospital in Kathmandu . The Nation Herald Thailand . 1 October 2021.
20. Web site: Simrik Air chopper crashes in Sankhuwasabha . 2023-08-01 . kathmandupost.com . English.
21. Web site: 2023-05-07 . CAAN bars Simrik Air from flights after Sankhuwasabha crash until investigations over - OnlineKhabar English News . 2023-08-01 . en-GB.