KATHMANDU, MAY 26
Celebrated climber Nirmal 'Nims' Purja, who commandeered an illegal helicopter landing at Everest high camp recently, has now faced another roadblock from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal as the aviation regulator refused to grant him a permit for skydiving in the Everest region.
A team of foreigners and the organizers from Nimsdai Skydive have already reached Namche Bazaar to prepare for the thrilling adventure in the Everest region. "CAAN has now refused to give permission to Nimsdai Skydive for a jaw-dropping 23,000ft free fall above the mountainous terrain," CAAN sources confirmed.
This year, Nims had a plan to commence his skydive event in the Everest region from May 25 – 29. The team was scheduled to take a helicopter flight above 23,000 ft on Mt Everest and land at Syangboche, the drop zone located at a staggering 12,400 ft, organizers shared.
CAAN officials insisted that it is a serious issue of aviation safety. "If an aircraft gets involved in any activities, it's the matter of CAAN's concerns," an official said. "For instance, if something happens to jumpers or gliders remain close even after jumping from the chopper, who will be responsible for the results?" the official questioned. CAAN issues air operator certificates for any operator with an obligation to adhere to and maintain flight operations with the provisions of AOC requirements which maintain the compliance with the standards of the Annexes of International Civil Aviation Authority.
Without framing any specific rules for this kind of adventure sports, CAAN couldn't allow Nims to conduct skydive in the Everest region, the official confirmed. "There is a need to frame a specific rule for specialsed operations which means any operation other than commercial air transport where the aircraft is used for special activities including agriculture, construction, photography, surveying observation and patrol as well as aerial advertisement among others," the official shared.
Last November, at least 12 skydivers including world champion Espen Fadnes and Nims himself skydived in the Everest region. "How they came to get clearance from CAAN to ascend to the skies in the Eurocopter AS350 that time is anybody's guess," an official said.
According to record, Nims, Kevin Thomas McNally, Micheal Andrew French, Danielle Hunt, Stephen Handley, Samuel Peter Stevens, Richard Jason Hughes, Espen Fadnes, Amber Couise Forte, Johannes Bergtors, Valeriya Alford (Female) and Om Kumar Poudel took part in the Nimsdai Skydive event last year.
This time also, more than 10 jumpers including Nims and Brazilian skydiver Luiza Ferrari were planning to jump from the helicopter with their Nimsdai canopies, said sources.
