Squirrel to the rescue
Eurocopter is claiming a new record for the performance of one of its AS350 Squirrel helicopters, which rescued three Spanish mountain climbers from a 6,900m (22,638 ft) site on Nepal’s Mount Annapurna on April 29.
The operation has underscored the performance capabilities of Eurocopter’s Ecureuil (Squirrel) helicopter in extreme conditions – including the most challenging high-altitude operations, where the thin air reduces the available thrust from the engine as well as the helicopter’s aerodynamic performance and power margins for safe manoeuvring. And the wispy clouds indicate wind gusts and resulting turbulence that make the flying even more demanding.
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The rescue was effected by “long-lining,” lowering a rescue worker on a long rope to strap himself to each stranded climber individually, winching them aboard, and evacuating them one by one to a base camp at an altitude of 4,000 meters (13,000 ft). The climbers had been stranded on the mountain for 36 hours.
The single-engined Squirrel was operated by Fishtail Air, a charter helicopter company based at Kathmandu, Nepal, and Switzerland’s Air Zermatt.
At locations like the rescue site, long-lining has to be used to keep the main and tail rotors at a safe distance from the steeply sloping rock.
This mission utilised Fishtail Air’s second AS350 B3, which arrived in Nepal on March 1 to join a fleet that includes an AS350 B and one AS350 B2, along with the company’s first AS350 B3.
Air Zermatt’s Capt. Daniel Aufdenblatten flew the rescue aircraft, while Swiss Mountain Guide Richard Lenner was deployed as a human sling to lift the stranded climbers onto the longline. In addition to this difficult operation, Fishtail Air’s newest AS350 B3 also rescued four Korean climbers and three Nepalese Sherpas on April 26 from Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, extracting them at an altitude of approximately 6,500 meters. Piloting the helicopter was Fishtail Capt. Sabin Basnyat, who was joined by Air Zermatt’s Daniel Aufdenblatten and Richi Lehner. Mount Manaslu is the world’s eighth highest mountain, while Mount Annapurna is the tenth highest.
“These rescues are tributes to the crews’ professionalism, as well as the capability of our AS350 Squirrel and the twin-engined AS550 Fennec military version to deliver performance and reliability in the most extreme conditions,” said Eurocopter Group President and CEO Lutz Bertling.
