Sherab Lhamo

On August 17, at around 2:48 pm, a Drukair helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in a paddy field in Issuna, Paro.

The video of the helicopter in the paddy field went viral on social media.

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Drukair, Tandi Wangchuk, the helicopter was forced to land in the paddy field due to poor visibility and sudden heavy rainfall and thunderstorm that disrupted operations at the Paro airport.

The helicopter, carrying two pilots, was returning to the base after a medical flight transporting a patient from Lunana to Thimphu.

The Drukair CEO said that while the weather in Thimphu was clear, weather conditions worsened on the return leg to Paro after dropping off the Bhutan Emergency Aeromedical Retrieval team and the patient in Thimphu.

The Drukair CEO said that the crew decided to return to Thimphu but as the helicopter approached Chuzom, the weather in Thimphu had also deteriorated.

Despite attempting a landing at Le Meridien Paro, the deteriorating weather forced the crew to make a precautionary landing in a paddy field in Issuna. The helicopter waited approximately an hour for conditions to improve before taking off again and landing at Paro Airport at 3:52 pm.

“It was a precautionary landing to avoid possible incidents and was handled well by the crew,” said the Drukair CEO.

After the landing, the pilots contacted the paddy field owner to explain the situation. “They explained why the helicopter had to land in the field and acknowledged the damage caused to the crops,” the Drukair CEO said.

The Drukair team met with the paddy field owner yesterday to assess the damage and determine if any compensation is required. The Drukair CEO said there was no damage to the crop. “The owner was in fact happy that the field proved useful for the helicopter’s precautionary landing.”