A helicopter en route to Kathmandu carrying five US nationals made an emergency landing at Banepa, 50 kilometres east of Kathmandu after a bird strike.
The 9N-AKG chopper, belonging to the private Heli Everest airlines, was coming from Lukla, gateway to Mt Everest, when it was struck by the bird at 11 am on Sunday, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.
The pilot managed to land the aircraft safely, the official added. According to the airline, the helicopter was carrying five US nationals as passengers and one Nepali pilot.
Although the helicopter did not suffer any damage, it would go through a technical test before it becomes ready for another flight, the report added.
Earlier in August, a helicopter had crashed in the mountains northwest region of Kathmandu, killing five people, including four Chinese tourists.
The Nepal-based Air Dynasty helicopter, 9N-AJD, was en route to Rasuwa from Kathmandu when it crashed. The helicopter departed from Kathmandu at 1:54 p.m. and was en route to Syaphrubensi when it crashed on August 7.
