Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey on Thursday inspected the Air Dynasty chopper crash site in Shivapuri Rural Municipality-7 in Nuwakot.

According to the minister’s secretariat, secretary Ganesh Prasad Pandey, officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, representatives from security agencies, and Chief District Officer of Nuwakot Ram Krishna Adhikari were present during the inspection.

Minister Pandey had planned to visit the crash site on Wednesday, but the visit was not possible due to an emergency Cabinet meeting, his secretariat said.

On Wednesday night, Minister Pandey’s secretariat issued a press note stating that the minister has postponed previously scheduled formal programmes for a week to focus on immediate and long-term tasks related to air safety.

All five people on board an Air Dynasty helicopter were killed when it crashed on a hillside located some 11 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu on Wednesday. The accident comes just two weeks after the Saurya Airlines crash in Kathmandu that killed 18 people.